Harry Potter the Adult Years
by Alexei Noire
Summary: A Kerazy Adventure of Harry after Hogwarts!COMPLETE
1. Default Chapter

The Reunion at Privet Drive  
  
The sun climbed over the roofs and the occasional weather vane in the houses of Privet Drive, illuminating the entire street with its perfect lawns and pristine road. The street looked the same as it ever had done, except for a few minor changes, and a house that looked like it had been hauled out of a different, more older part of town and placed at where number 4 used to be. The inhabitant of this ancient house emerged from the large oaken doors to casually pick up the morning paper - it was a tall, skinny man with hair as black as a raven's feather, eyes like emeralds rammed into his eye sockets and glasses perched on his nose. But the most prominent feature of this man was a large cut shaped like a bolt of lightning across his forehead, this was Mr Harry Potter. He gave a nonchalant wave to old Mr Romanda from number 8 who was up early walking his Chihuahua which began yapping menacingly at the newspaper Harry was holding. He gave the dog a condescending smile and went back into the colossal house that was Number 4 Privet Drive.  
  
"Oh you're up dear," Harry said to an extremely pretty woman who was rummaging the shelves looking for cornflakes.  
  
"Good morning to you too!" she said with a warming smile. This was Cho, who had been married to Harry for three years now.  
  
Harry peered through the window and put a sudden finger to his lips. He could hear a rapid tapping, and was relieved to see a large eagle owl pecking at the sliding patio door overlooking number 4 Privet Drive's garden. Cho let the owl in and took a piece of paper enclosed in its beak. She began to read as the owl flew to a bowl of water where the absent Hedwig would normally sip from.  
  
"Oh it's from Dean Thomas!" she read, "Him and his girlfriend can make it to the barbecue this afternoon. Hurrah!"  
  
That afternoon, there was a lot more commotion at Privet Drive, there were three cars parked outside the Potters' house, getting disapproving looks from the neighbours. So far, Harry's best friend, Ron Weasley and his wife Hermione were at their house, as well as Lavender and her boyfriend, Seamus, who had known her for years.  
  
First to arrive was Harry's old friend from school, Parvati who had brought her new artist boyfriend, Alexei.  
  
"Alexei only drinks from wine glasses that have been licked all around the rim.ANTI clockwise, mind," Parvati informed Harry as he poured out some cognac for the guests. "He can tell when it's been done correctly, you know."  
  
Harry gave a furtive glance towards Hermione and winked at Ron as he wiped a wet dishcloth around the rim of the glass. Cho and Hermione watched with baited breath as Alexei sipped cognac from the wet glass, waiting for him to crack.  
  
"This is very nice cognac," he said with a satisfied look on his face, helping himself to more drink.  
  
Harry and Ron each slapped each other a high five and grinned sheepishly at Parvati, who seemed positively scandalised.  
  
There was a knock on the door answered by Parvati who was under the impression her new boyfriend would make friends with the lads in her absence. There was an assortment of four people at the large wooden doors of the Potters' house. There was a tall black man, smiling at Parvati, who had his arm held, nay CRADLED by a very large woman with a sour look on her face.  
  
"Dean you made it!" Hermione said coming to the door as Parvati ran to the garden looking harassed, "and I see you brought Milly too. How you been Mill?"  
  
"My name is Millicent, Millicent Bulstrode, Granger and don't you forget it, or I'll pound you," she growled. "I'm only messing!" She said catching the way Hermione's jaw dropped, cracking her face into a doughy smile that would have caused a mirror to be so offended, it would have smashed itself.  
  
Behind the couple were two teenagers, both with charcoal black hair and various piercings and gothic clothes. They were hand in hand and had solemn looks on their faces, the black lipstick and white face make up made them both appear to be suffering from constant teenage angst.  
  
"Ginny! Love the new look. and Colin? Colin CREEVY! Is that you?" Hermione said as the pair walked in without a word, chewing on gum casually. "Nice to see you too."  
  
"Look who's here!" Hermione called to Cho and Harry who were busy preparing the barbecue with the unhelpful assistance of Ron who was utterly intrigued by this way of cooking.  
  
"So you burn the meat on this large cauldron eh?" he remarked flapping about excitedly as Harry and Cho lit the charcoal, "HEY HERMIONE! Come look at this! Muggles these days, they don't realise how fascinating their everyday lives can be!"  
  
Hermione was used to Ron talking excitedly about Muggles as if they were zoo creatures whose every doing was intriguing. He had inherited this enthralment from his father who used to work for the Ministry of Magic.  
  
Later that evening Cho, Hermione and Lavender laid the table in the dining room for dinner with twelve places. Parvati was not helping as she said that it was against her beliefs to fit into the stereotypical role as cook and instead sat in Alexei's lap, fondling him lovingly. Ginny and Colin were in the lounge watching MTV with the speakers on maximum volume, watching a heavy metal music video.  
  
Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean and Millicent were out in the garden on patio chairs, with Norah Jones quietly playing in the background. Dean and Millicent were sat next to each other, hand in hand. They had not been to Harry and Cho's house before and were somewhat impressed with the magnitude of the house.  
  
"Harry isn't this where your aunt and uncle's house used to be?" Dean asked quizzically.  
  
Harry reached down to get a glass of sherry he had left on the patio.  
  
"Yeah they did," he said sipping the sherry, "but after I finished Hogwarts and Dudley went to Dover to run Grunnings ltd from there, the Dursleys needed a smaller house and were willing to sell the house. Well no one really liked the house and for six months, there had been no offers. So Cho and I discussed it and we agreed to buy 4 Privet Drive, it was the perfect location if we were to live in a normal Muggle city. The Dursleys refused the offer at first saying that he would rather have Mrs Figg live in their house than us. But he couldn't complain when we offered him over the asking price. "He's been quite warm to me and Cho since then actually. Aunt Petunia comes round every other month to give us some buns and currants, they live on the other side of town now bless them."  
  
Dean looked questioningly at Harry.  
  
"But Harry, this house was no where near this big when you showed me that picture years ago."  
  
Harry gave a short chuckle and added, "Well we decided we didn't have to have our house looking like the rest of the street so we bought a large old house off this Banshee in Kilkenny who made a magical swap. So now the Dursleys' old house is on a hill in Ireland, even that blasted cupboard under the stairs."  
  
"Guys! Millicent! Dinner's ready," Lavender called from the patio door.  
  
The men and Millicent trooped back into the house, taking turns to wash hands and sit down near each other so that they could discuss Quidditch.  
  
Ginny and Colin made their way to the table glumly but did not sit down.  
  
"Colin and I do not want to sit on the table. We're going to eat in the lounge, if that's okay with you."  
  
"Ginny!" Ron scolded, "Come and sit with the rest, it's rude to sit alone in the lounge!"  
  
"No, really it's okay with me. Cho?" Harry said.  
  
She smiled and nodded at Colin and Ginny.  
  
"No Ginny is going to sit with the rest of us," Ron persisted.  
  
"But the new Slipknot video is on!" Colin pleaded.  
  
Ron suddenly perked up, "Slipknot you say? There space for three on that sofa?" he said running into the lounge with a bewildered Ginny and Colin and a plateful of food.  
  
Everyone laughed except Millicent who did not find it funny and instead went to sit in the lounge herself. Parvati ate minimal, as she insisted that she could lose her figure since her metabolism was so slow nowadays but she fed Alexei, while on his lap.  
  
And so the dinner at Privet Drive ended with everyone going home early the next morning, very content and happy. 


	2. The Great Sickness

The Great Sickness  
  
Harry and Cho were at a teashop in Croydon look for new china for Dudley's wedding. Dudley had been quite reluctant to invite Harry and Cho, but Aunt Petunia insisted they attend, for her sake at least.  
  
They were having real trouble in finding one that did not look too fancy but not too simple either. Harry said it really did not matter but Cho was adamant in choosing the perfect one.  
  
"How about this one," Harry asked picking up a plate that had ivy pattern on it.  
  
"No, it looks too busy, we need something simpler."  
  
Harry sighed and with a 'Yes dear' followed his wife as she looked for more designs.  
  
The Wizarding world was having its own problems, but they had bigger fish to fry than china patterns.  
  
"Minister, sir!" a messenger came into the Minister of Magic's office with an urgent message, "There's been another outbreak, this time in the north of the country."  
  
The person sat on the chair turned around and sighed; he was a very large man and took up a lot of the space in the large chair he was sat in.  
  
"If we don't find a cure soon, all the witches and wizards will die out. We cannot let this happen I tell you!"  
  
The messenger began fidgeting nervously.  
  
"There is only one person I can think of," He said, "He can't help us but he knows just the people who can. Envoy! Send me Harry Potter."  
  
Meanwhile Harry and Cho had settled on a china pattern and were now sipping tea with their own china, which was not as fancy as Dudley's.  
  
Harry sighed, "I was on the phone to Gringotts just now, and we spent 6 Galleons on that!"  
  
"Well at least we can now add to your parents' money and make our own for when we have children of our own."  
  
Harry spluttered his tea. Cho just carried on.  
  
"Wouldn't that be nice?"  
  
"Yes dear." At that moment an owl came swooping down and dropped a note on Harry's lap. Startled, he picked it up and opened it.  
  
"It's from the Ministry," he said, recognising the symbol on it.  
  
"Well what does it say?" Cho demanded.  
  
He continued to read it until he'd finished it, and then handed it to Cho.  
  
"WHAT!" Cho shouted, "They can't send you now on your holidays to do a job for them, this is wrong and unfair. You go to that L."  
  
"CHO! Please, there are people dying from this illness. It could be a new motive of the Death Eaters - germ warfare."  
  
Cho sighed, looking to the ground, "Well if you must. But I'm not living here alone!"  
  
"No of course not, I'll get Sirius and Professor Cumae to come live with you."  
  
"It seems like only a few months ago they were married."  
  
Harry looked up but didn't say anything. What Cho didn't know was that he had been expecting this for weeks.  
  
"So you're going to send Hedwig back with a message as soon as you get there, yeah?" Cho asked.  
  
Harry smiled curtly, "Of course, honey. I just don't know how long this could take and the Minister seemed so serious about this whole situation when I spoke to him by Floo yesterday."  
  
Harry looked towards his godfather and smiled, "You will look after her won't you?"  
  
"Course we will," Sirius said as his wife, the Defence Against Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts this year, packed a steak and kidney pie into Harry's car.  
  
"Here are some more pies for your journey Harry dear," Professor Cumae said with a warm smile and her smiling eyes through her half moon spectacles.  
  
With a final wave and a hug to Cho, Harry drove off to the Ministry of Magic Headquarters in London.  
  
Cho started sobbing and fell onto Professor Cumae's arms.  
  
"It's alright, dear, he'll be back. He's a strong lad!" she said reassuringly, "He's fought battles tougher than this. You got a real soldier in that Harry you know."  
  
"Vena's right, Cho, if there's one thing I know about my godson it's that he's a real protagonist and no matter how many times he falls, he gets back up." "Let's hope so," Cho sobbed as the three finally made their way back to 4 Privet Drive.  
  
Harry arrived at the Headquarters an hour after he had left Privet Drive. The place looked bigger than ever; there were constant rain clouds above the buildings which were made of colossal stone bricks and went so high into the skies that they were in the clouds. There were harpies sending messages and guarding certain offices, shrieking horribly. There was the occasional house elf as the odd person went by with them trailing after them like some juvenile and its parent. Cold and unearthly, the entire place looked like a family of great monsters.  
  
Harry entered and signed in at reception. His heart was now doing a drum roll; although he had known the current Minister of Magic since his school years, he had changed since then and was a real authoritative figure.  
  
He waited outside the Minister's office patiently, twiddling his thumbs absentmindedly.  
  
A frail young woman came to the door, "Mr Harry Potter, you may see the Minister now."  
  
Harry got up and opened the door slowly, as he did the hefty person in the seat turned around and cracked his doughy face into an unmistakeable smile.  
  
"Harry!" he called, "Do sit down, old friend. Some tea for you or perhaps something stronger?"  
  
"No, Minister Sir, no thank you, I'm quite alright."  
  
"Oh and don't bother with that 'minister' nonsense, we're old friends Harry! Even my wife calls me Minister!"  
  
Harry looked up; he was sat in a stupor in the chair opposite the Minister.  
  
"Look I know this whole sickness has got us all down but that's why I called for you Harry! You're the best we have; this whole thing will blow ov."  
  
"NEVILLE! Please, I'm sorry but I don't think I can be of much help at all. In fact I'm not even sure why you came to me. What am I good for?"  
  
Neville leant forward and changed his face to a deadly serious expression, "Harry, do you remember a certain character called Vincent Crabbe?"  
  
Harry looked up, eyes widened, "Why yes, he was friends with Draco Malfoy."  
  
"Well then Harry, you'll be aware that he has become an expert potion maker since he left Hogwart, getting top marks in his NEWTs."  
  
"I don't understand." Neville smiled and added, "Well maybe you will when I show you people affected by this sickness."  
  
So they left the office and made their way to St Mungo's Hospital.  
  
The receptionist allowed them to go through without question saying, "Ooh Mr Longbottom, sir go on through!"  
  
They passed many wards full of people that looked criminally insane and beyond help, but they finally came to a ward that had been sealed off and people going in had to wear body suits. Both Harry and Neville were issued one before they went in.  
  
The sight Harry saw was jaw dropping.  
  
There were beds and beds full of people who looked so thin and wispy they were barely skin and bones; they were muttering nonsensically in pain and Harry could see bright red sores all over their arms and legs.  
  
Neville tapped Harry on the shoulder and he followed him to one of the beds where the nurse was showed Harry something protruding from the patient's chest. He couldn't quite make out what it was.  
  
"Can you see that Harry?" Neville said suddenly, "On his chest, it's in the shape of an eyelid. The doctors have noticed that when the victim is about to die, the 'eye' opens and bleeds until all the blood has been drained from the body. You see they can't try and stop the blood with pressure and the eye doesn't seem to let it clot so it's similar to that of haemophilia victims."  
  
Looking down at the poor sufferer he knew what he must do, and he understood why Neville had said to see Vincent Crabbe. It was time to make old grudges obsolete and to save these people, for Crabbe was the only one who could quash this terrible illness. 


	3. Unexpected Help

Unexpected Help  
  
Harry was given a room at the Ministry of Magic Headquarters later that day and he sat down to write a letter to Cho. He had already written one when he had arrived in London but he wanted to tell her everything. She was his one and only, she had to know everything that went on. Harry remembered how in his sixth year at Hogwarts he had sung a cover of 'Zero' by the Smashing Pumpkins, at the Christmas Feast changing the lyrics slightly so that it applied directly to Cho. Henceforth, Cho loved it when he referred to her as his 'One and Only'.  
  
He smirked as he sat down and reminisced that time. maybe he could write another song for Cho, yes, another rock and roll cover or maybe even a soppy ballad. no. He had to get this business out of the way - the needs of the many were greater than the needs of the few. He began to write a message on a piece of parchment he had brought with him and got out his eagle feather quill:  
  
Dearest Cho,  
  
It turns out that this illness is worse than could be imagined and  
it means I will have to be away for quite a while. Because of this, I  
will be coming back to visit you habitually. Did you know that they have  
harpies guarding the Department of Mysteries now? It came as such a shock  
to me. And, although this is somewhat secretive, they also have  
manticores in charge of some of the safes (they hold documents, all the  
treasure is at Gringotts).  
This illness really is terrible and you remember Maggoty Malfoy's old  
crony, Vincent Crabbe? It turns out he's a potion genius and he can help  
in curing this illness. hopefully. I will need to talk to him and us lads  
don't hold grudges as tightly as you females so hopefully he'll co  
operate when I describe the situation. He always seemed like a dumbass to  
me at Hogwarts didn't he?  
Well I should get some sleep, I'll be up early the next morning to see  
Severus Snape, who'll be coming with me to see Crabbe. I miss you so  
much, my love it's only been a few hours and it's too much for me  
already. Say hi to Sirius and Aunt Vena for me.  
Remember you're my one and only.  
  
Yours truly,  
  
HarryPotter.  
  
That was okay, Harry thought. He folded it up and woke up the tawny that was snoozing in the corner of the room. It had been put there by Neville's house elf, Charky who was so shy, she didn't even meet eyes with Harry, and mumbled awkwardly when they met.  
  
And so, he threw the owl off into the night and stretched to read up on the Sickness, discovering that the only other kind of epidemic like this was the Black Death of the 14th Century. Eventually falling asleep after a couple of hours of reading.  
  
Harry woke up next morning face down on the desk in his room whilst reading up on the Oriental Rat Flea that caused the Plague. Taking his glasses off, he got up and got changed, this would be the day where the fate of the Magical Folk would be decided, depending on whether Crabbe would help them.  
  
He went to get breakfast at the local restaurant near the Headquarters. There was an invisibility spell all around the buildings, which is why he needed a pass to get in. To an ordinary Muggle it was a damaged building site.  
  
Neville met Harry as he was about to go back to the Ministry Headquarters.  
  
"Neville!" Harry suddenly said, "I was just about to come and get you."  
  
"Harry you could have dined in the Ministry for free! There was no need to go and eat from a Muggle café."  
  
"Well the thing is that I only feel comfortable around Muggles," Harry mumbled.  
  
The Minister just smiled and urged Harry to follow him. When they got the end of the street he clicked his fingers and suddenly a black taxi appeared.  
  
"To Hogwarts please," Neville said climbing into the back seat with Harry behind him.  
  
The taxi began driving, "But Neville Hogwarts is miles away, it'll take forever to get there by car."  
  
Mr Longbottom just smiled and said, "Oh really? Then how come we're here? And look there's the onerous Whomping Willow."  
  
Surely enough, before them was an ancient castle that was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and in the distance was a tree thrashing about threateningly in every direction.  
  
"That'll be all, cabbie," the Minister said dropping 19 sickles into the taxi drivers hand.  
  
"Harry you can wait here, I don't want to loiter here it's term time you know."  
  
The Minister disappeared into the castle for a few minutes and Harry just took a walk along the grounds. He found himself at the Quidditch pitch; there had been new goals added and new stands for spectators since he had attended Hogwarts.  
  
He imagined himself as he flew along the skies years ago on his Firebolt that Sirius had given him. He remembered how he was the Seeker and flew like a bird through the skies, he could be as light as a butterfly but as quick as a sparrowhawk.  
  
"Potter?" Professor Severus Snape's voice hauled Harry out his thoughts.  
  
"Professor!" Harry said suddenly, "how are you?" "Working for years in this castle hasn't helped my self esteem I can tell you that Potter."  
  
"So are we all ready to go?" Neville said clapping his hands together.  
  
"Yes Longbottom, but where is Vincent nowadays?" Snape said coldly, even after Neville had been made Minister of Magic, he had failed to show any more regard than he had done at school.  
  
"Well he's currently residing in Paris, near the Notre Dame Cathedral strangely enough."  
  
"So we can just apparate to the Cathedral?" Harry asked.  
  
Neville nodded.  
  
And a minute later Harry was stood right by the colossal building, next to Snape and Neville coming in a few seconds later.  
  
"Right," Neville said brushing dust off his suit, "we need to find a bistro nearby called 'Le Grand Loup'"  
  
And so Neville walked over to a traffic warden and said, "M'excuser madame, mais vous pouvez m'aider s'il vous plaît?"  
  
"Oui Mais bien sûr!" she replied  
  
"Où Le Grand Loup est s'il vous plaît?"  
  
"C'est seulement là-bas," she said pointing to her left, "Côté de la banque, vous pouvez le voir?"  
  
"Oui merci beaucoup madame!" Neville said with a jovial wave.  
  
"It's just by that bank over there, that place with the blue sign," he informed Harry and Snape.  
  
Harry and Snape followed, utterly amazed at how much Neville was capable of in terms of communication.  
  
"Neville did you have to learn French before you came here?" Harry asked nervously.  
  
"Oh of course not!" he laughed, "I just put an interaction charm on my tongue and voila! Je parlez francais parfaitement!"  
  
They approached the bistro and saw how nicely everything looked. Neville went in and spoke to one of the waitresses, asking for a Vincent Crabbe. After a few minutes, he came back outside, shaking his head.  
  
"Sorry guys, I guess we missed him, the waitress had a very strong Parisian accent and I couldn't make out all of what she was saying."  
  
"What's the point of talking in French anyway, Longbottom?" Snape cut in, "everyone in the world speaks English as a second language anyway."  
  
The Minister didn't have time to argue.  
  
"Oh bother," he carried on as if Snape had not said anything, "There must be someone here who knows where he is right now, we need him as soon possible!"  
  
At that moment, the same waitress that Neville had been talking to came out again and started conversing with him, looking as if he had misunderstood her. A few minutes later, he laughed as the waitress went back into the bistro.  
  
"It seems we had a misunderstanding, fellas," Neville said jovially, "Monsieur Crabbe is inside she says but we will have to wait until midday as he works at a fruit and vegetable stall during the day."  
  
Harry sighed and exchanged troubled glances with Snape, this could turn out to be harder than was premeditated.  
  
"So what shall we do for two hours, Minister?" Harry asked.  
  
"Well we could just wander around Paris for a while but I shall have to leave you to it I'm afraid, I've arranged an appointment with the Minister for Magic of New Zealand. The Sickness is pretty bad there too."  
  
He turned away to apparate but then added, "Oh and don't go near the cathedral, you know what happens to magical folk when they go near consecrated buildings." With that he apparated away.  
  
"What happens when we go near cathedrals?" Harry asked Snape.  
  
Snape sighed exasperatedly, "Well you see, magic and celestial things don't mix, and so you could get badly hurt if you go into a church. Some people catch fire, others get struck by lightning, but worst of all you get this feeling that stops you from breathing, most terrible Potter."  
  
Harry looked up at the Notre Dame Cathedral and thought about how it must feel to be struck down by lightning and to stop breathing. And so Harry spent the hours walking around Paris, but not straying to far from the Cathedral. Snape made the excuse that he was too old and so he sat outside Le Grand Loup ordering coffee after coffee. He eventually fell asleep even though there was enough caffeine inside him to keep a drowsy tortoise up for a good few days.  
  
Eventually midday came but still no sign of Crabbe, Harry had joined Snape outside the bistro and was sipping on what they called 'Chocolat Chaud' which Harry guessed was chocolate milk but it was actually a liquid chocolate drink.  
  
Eventually the waitress came outside and started talking in fast French, but Harry told her how he could not understand her. She could not speak either so she just said , "Crabbe? Il est à l'intérieur" she said motioning inside.  
  
"I think she's trying to say he's inside the bistro, Professor," Harry said shaking Snape awake.  
  
"Okay okay, I'll get the chimaera tails by Monday Headmistress," Snape said sleepily.  
  
The waitress led the two inside the bistro to a room upstairs where there was a small, dusty office. On the door it said 'Vincent Crabbe le Propriétaire'. The waitress knocked once on the door and a loud coarse voice called "ENTREZ!"  
  
Inside the office it was very stuffy but also very bright and there was a beautiful view of the Cathedral from the windows behind the desk. The man in the seat was large and had messy, unkempt hair that was slicked to the side.  
  
"Que voulez vous?" he said without looking up from the letter he was reading.  
  
The waitress spoke to him and Crabbe looked up, disbelieving.  
  
"Professor Snape!" he said getting up to shake his hand and then added, "What's he doing here?"  
  
"Now, now Vincent, Potter is here to help us," Snape said reassuringly, "However it is your help that we need."  
  
"Me?" Crabbe said laughing, "What am I good for? I'm just a Potions Teacher at Beauxbatons Academy and run a green grocers and coffee house the rest of the time."  
  
"Well that's the thing, Vincent," Harry said, "It's your potion making skills that we need."  
  
So they sat down with some coffee brought by Amandine, the waitress who was constantly beaming flirtatiously at Harry, and the two explained the situation to Crabbe.  
  
At the end Crabbe finally said getting up off his chair and walking around the room, "Well, if the Ministry is relying on me to cure this illness, but what makes them think I can do it?"  
  
"I don't think anyone has told you this Vincent," Snape said turning to face him, "but you received the highest marks in the NEWTs for Potions at Hogwarts than any other student for four hundred and twenty six years. It's a real shame that so few students excel at the subject."  
  
"I blame the teachers," Harry said grudgingly.  
  
"What? I'm the best student at Potions that Hogwarts has ever had? Well that explains why Beauxbatons even took me on, I was thrilled to bits when they told me I had the job and now I know it was because I'm the best! Hear that Potter? I beat Granger!"  
  
"But Crabbe there are more pressing issues at hand, the Great Sickness for one, they say it could kill off the magical folk if we don't treat it in time."  
  
Crabbe stopped pacing and rubbed his hands together.  
  
"There's only one way we can cure this illness."  
  
"What you know how to, you mean really?"  
  
Vincent looked down at Harry, "It's fairly hypothetical Potter, and pretty complicated nothing you'd understand. HA!" he laughed, "Even that Granger couldn't do it!"  
  
"Well what is it, man?" Snape asked impatiently, "Tell us!"  
  
".It's a longshot but I think the cure lies in the Aestheticism Potion." 


	4. The Aestheticism Potion

The Aestheticism Potion  
  
It had been a week since Harry and Severus Snape had been to Notre Dame to get Vincent Crabbe to help them to cure the epidemic that was fast sweeping the wizarding world. Crabbe had left Christophe, a burly Frenchman in charge of his bistro in Paris, he had left his niece in charge of his fruit and vegetable stall and he took a few weeks off his post of Potions Master at Beauxbatons Academy.  
  
Crabbe had been given a whole range of ingredients to use and although he was utterly excited at being able to use such exotic constituents, he was also very grave about the concoction of the Aestheticism Potion.  
  
"So what is the Aestheticism Potion," Snape asked quizzically, in his years of potion making he had never heard of it.  
  
"Well," Crabbe said chopping up ingredients and checking the cauldron for holes, "it's an invention of mine, hypothetical of course but then again if Sir Alexander Fleming weren't to ask 'what is this mould' we wouldn't have penicillin today!"  
  
And so he was left alone to concoct the complex potion.  
  
Days and weeks went by and after what seemed to be Crabbe's 98th attempt at making the potion, he came out screaming "EUREKA!" waving his arms about frantically with a vial containing a luminous blue substance in it.  
  
Snape looked at the liquid in the vial and asked with wide eyes, "Is that it, boy? The cure to the Sickness?"  
  
"Well I tested it out on the rats with the Sickness and the 'eye' scabbed up and the sore cleared up a week after."  
  
At that moment, the Minister of Magic walked in.  
  
"What's all the noise? The Daily Prophet's called this epidemic 'Satan's Eye' because that's what St Mungo's have labelled it now due to the 'eye' on the chest of the sufferer."  
  
He then saw Crabbe, the vial and then looked at Snape.  
  
"Is that what I think it is?" his face went from puzzled to ecstatic, "MY DEAR BOY! YOU'VE DONE IT!"  
  
He ran towards Crabbe and embraced him, almost knocking the vial out of his hand.  
  
"Do calm yourself, Longbottom," Snape said harshly, "You were always a bumbling idiot at school, try and change in your adult years, lad."  
  
Neville looked at Professor Snape with contempt, his spirits were much stronger since he became Minister and not even Snape could dampen them.  
  
"That was uncalled for, Professor and anyway I'm sure you'll agree that the patients will be happy, now we can finally clear the wards."  
  
"Well, Minister it's not really like that," Crabbe said, "the potion works a week after being given it and then the patient gets influenza for a few days."  
  
"Ah, very well then," Neville said, "Well we shall have to ask you to send the recipe to the drug companies who'll pay you for it, and we will pay you 6000 Galleons as well, Mr Crabbe."  
  
And so the Aestheticism Potion came into being, and as fast as penicillin had spread, so had this. Vincent Crabbe was made famous and was given a Nobel Award for Medicine.  
  
Soon every newspaper and TV Show wanted Vincent Crabbe to interview in his courageous battle against the Satan's Eyelid epidemic, he became a national hero and his Parisian bistro became famous.  
  
"So Mr Crabbe, how does this Aestheticism Potion work?" a journalist for the Daily Prophet, Rita Skeeter asked.  
  
"Well Rita, it's to do with the mind really," Crabbe replied, "it's a simple Montadeau potion which is used for bruises and hare lips with a splash of Pumpkin rind and the final ingredient which requires the potion maker's thoughts."  
  
"Yes.?," Rita urged him on, "go on."  
  
"Well what happens is that the potion maker has to think of something cultural and pensive, really concentrate on that thought and then the potion goes from a dull khaki to a luminous blue."  
  
Similar interviews came up and Crabbe was paid generously, in fact the Daily Prophet did seven different stories on him, front cover stories twice.  
  
But amongst all the celebrating, another more deadly fiend was rising from the dirt and a very old and jealous friend of Dr Vincent Crabbe was devising a plan to destroy all innocent people that stood in his path. 


	5. Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire

Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire  
  
The days went on since Vincent Crabbe had discovered the Aestheticism Potion and soon enough, all the sufferers of Satan's Eyelid in the world were cured of it, although a lot more people gave the influenza side effect to others than the Sickness itself. The Minister of Magic of New Zealand had paid him a generous sum of Wizard Gold for giving all the drug companies in New Zealand the recipe for the potion. He had gotten a lot more money from other drug companies, the other Ministries of Magic and from newspaper interviews. His fortune was increasing at such an alarming rate that the Gringotts Goblins were constantly busy rushing hither and thither with his gold, having to open up several accounts for him.  
  
Harry was now back at home with his wife, Cho, who was over the moon to see him arrive after weeks and weeks. Sirius and Professor Cumae had left a faerie charm on the house and now there were lots of bright little creatures that would open doors, change clothes and even cook for the Potters.  
  
Cho had been discussing children, and was wondering if Harry wanted them too.  
  
"We've been married three years now, Harry," she said, "most couples jump straight into bed on the wedding night!"  
  
"Well we're not most couples, Cho," he said, "I'm not sure that I am ready for them right now."  
  
"Come on, I won't stay fertile all my life!" she said, "Look we can go to the family planning centre today and see what happens from there, okay?"  
  
Harry nodded gravely, of course he would do anything for his Cho but having a child was a really big decision.  
  
"Well, Mr and Mrs Potter," Dr Lumen at the 'Happy Families' family planning centre said, "it appears that we have discovered some rather anomalous yet unfortunate results from your tests."  
  
"Well what is it, doctor?" Cho said, "Is there some kind of problem?"  
  
Harry sighed, this couldn't be good news, he could feel it in his bones.  
  
Dr Lumen sat down and took her glasses off, making a faint smile in her young face.  
  
"I'm afraid that you can't have children," she said sighing, "It seems that both of you are very infertile and it seems that you can never naturally conceive."  
  
Cho just looked at Harry and began sobbing uncontrollably, falling into his arms.  
  
"However, it is possible to adopt children you know," Dr Lumen added, "there are plenty of orphaned and abandoned children that need the individual love that they don't get at group homes."  
  
But Cho did not want to listen to Dr Lumen, she wanted to carry her own child. And so the Potters left the family planning clinic that day, upset with broken spirits.  
  
That night Cho went to the kitchen and sat down with a bowl of vanilla ice cream and muesli, while watching a late night film called 'Fear' starring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Wahlberg. Although she hated both of the actors, she found that its dark storyline was a comfort in her dark hour, and with 'Have it all' playing in the background, she was feeling really down.  
  
Then suddenly a newsflash appeared, interrupting the film.  
  
"We are sorry to interrupt this program but there has been an enormous outbreak of a new illness, called Serpentine Myopia."  
  
Cho increased the volume and leant forward, chewing more slowly on the muesli.  
  
".this illness is so named due to the blindness in the early stages and the serpentine worms that appear under the skin and live inside the lining of the small intestine. It seems there is no known cure and even Dr Vincent Crabbe who quelled the Satan's Eyelid Epidemic is pessimistic about success in finding a cure. So far all the doctors can do is give sedatives to sufferers to ease the pain."  
  
Cho turned the television off and sighed. She had to stop feeling sorry for herself now, there were people who had much bigger problems than her; there were people who would never be able to even see their loved ones let alone have children. She decided that she was going to go and help these people, there was no cure but she could at least go and help them in person.  
  
Cho got up and began to go upstairs when Harry came bounding down in a frenzy, running past Cho and switching the television on.  
  
"Oh so you've heard about the new epidemic?" she enquired.  
  
Harry turned back at her quickly and said, "Yeah I knew that but Dr Crabbe just phoned me and said that there was a pirate broadcast with Draco Malfoy in, he seems to have something to do with it."  
  
And sure enough, there was Malfoy's sneering face on the television, clad in robes of amethyst velvet, he began to speak, "This is Lord Draco Malfoy of Malfoy Manor. I'm sure you all know me already and so I won't beat about the bush. IT WAS ME! It was me who brought about the new illness, Serpentine Myopia. How did he do it, you say? EASY! I have this!" he said brandishing an enormous book that had some unknown language on the front.  
  
"Yes, all I needed was to spread another illness after that filth Crabbe quashed the other one, but not this time! Do you want to know why? BECAUSE HE'S HERE WITH ME! And would you look at that, he has the illness too! He'll be dead by the morning," he then looked down and a forked tongue came out of his mouth quickly, "So Minister, I give you a proposition - you either give me control of the Ministry of Magic. or I will kill all the magical folk in the world!" He ended the transmission with a malicious laugh, and then the television returned to the late night film that was on.  
  
Harry looked at Cho, then simply uttered, "Hmm."  
  
"Is that all you can say? The Ministry's last hope has just caught the illness and that's all that comes to your mind?" she said loudly.  
  
"That wasn't Vincent Crabbe in that transmission," he said.  
  
"What do you mean? Of course it was him! Didn't you see his face?"  
  
"That book that Malfoy was waving about, it looked like a black magick book. I don't know if you know this, but Dark Magick is a lot stronger than White Magic, the possibilities are endless. And one of the things that you can do with such power is create illusions."  
  
Cho frowned at him, trying to comprehend what he was saying.  
  
"The real Vincent Crabbe had only just phoned me and informed me that he was in the Ministry Headquarters, he even gave the phone to Neville for a few minutes. So Malfoy's obviously got his wires crossed."  
  
"Well what are you waiting for? Let's go to the Ministry Headquarters!" Cho said.  
  
Harry looked at her cautiously, "Honey, I don't want you to get involved, I'll ask Sirius and Vena to come and."  
  
"I DON'T BLOODY NEED BABYSITTING, HARRY! I am a grown woman and can look after myself or are you still living in the fifteenth century? I shan't speak to you again if you leave me like this, and if you do, I will go anyway, you hear?"  
  
Harry sighed, "Come on then, take a pinch," he said offering a pot of Floo powder and going over to the fireplace which he lit with his wand.  
  
She took a pinch and as the flames turned a light jade, she jumped in shouting, "THE MINISTRY HEADQUARTERS!"  
  
Harry jumped in after her.  
  
At the Ministry, Harry's speculation was confirmed - the real Vincent Crabbe was at the Headquarters and that others with him assumed that it must have been an illusion.  
  
The Minister was quite surprised to see Cho with him. But nonetheless, gave her the job of putting a protection spell on the Ministry Messengers and Dr Crabbe.  
  
Neville left straightaway to make a national announcement.  
  
"Magical folk of Britain! This is Neville Longbottom your Minister. Here is what you should all do to stop this illness spreading further. There is no point in trying to treat it now, it is a dark magical illness which we cannot understand and so I implore to all to bring together all the victims and seal them off, any people with them must be brought in too. This may seem like a drastic measure but it is the only way we can overcome it. PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE!" he boomed, "As for Dr Vincent Crabbe, he is alive and well, Mr Malfoy merely created the illusion that he had the illness, but it is far from true. And so I end on this sad note, Adieu."  
  
Neville made his way back to his office but as he did, Dr Crabbe came running towards him.  
  
"Minister! Minister! I think I know where Malfoy is!" He cried leaping towards him.  
  
"What?" Neville said, utterly confounded, "How? Where?"  
  
"I saw the stone walls behind him and they're of the secret hideout we had found when we were schoolchildren, I still know the way!"  
  
"But Vincent, I can't come with you, I need to go to New Zealand for a conference with the Minister there. They do seem to have bad luck there."  
  
"I've got it!" Crabbe exclaimed, "Harry Potter! He's the most able person I know to come with us, but we will need more people, the more the better."  
  
Harry had been informed and agreed to go, Hermione Weasley, who was an Auror for the Ministry had also been called up as well as Cho who proved to know more about dark magick destruction than any other person available at the Ministry. There was also a group of 12 Aurors that had been brought in.  
  
The whole party was brought together and Crabbe was declared leader.  
  
"Okay everyone! We will be venturing into the underground tunnels of Sousoll, near Wales. It will be a difficult journey and there may be the odd dragon so we must all be prepared for this as it could prove to be fatal."  
  
And so the expedition to the Tunnels of Sousoll took place. 


	6. Through the Tunnels

Through the Tunnels  
  
The expedition to the Caves of Sousoll took only six days but no one in the party knew how difficult the journey through the actual tunnels would be. Dr Crabbe had been a good leader so far and managed to keep everyone together although there were some that did not trust him for he was an old school friend of Draco Malfoy.  
  
Nonetheless, the party came to the opening of the tunnels which resembled the mouth of a great dog.  
  
Crabbe looked at it and sighed, "Well I'm glad we all made it this far, but I'm warning you now - the remainder of this journey is not to be taken lightly. There is the risk of certain death, and urge any one of us who feels that they cannot handle it to Disapparate now."  
  
There was a long silence followed by two witches talking to each other in hushed voices and one rather fatigued looking wizard Disapparating with a final "Adieu".  
  
"Anyone else?" Dr Crabbe asked, but everyone else remained silent and certain, "Well that's just grand! Now, to the rest of you - the tunnels of Sousoll are very dark and so a light charm will have to be used by every third person as I would like the others to be ready for any necessary combat...."  
  
"C-c-combat?" a skinny blonde witch piped up, "Oh like, I don't want to ruin my nails! This journey was meant to be fun, not boring and bloody. I mean, Dr Cab, or whatever your name is - I could SWEAT..."  
  
"Well then you wouldn't mind Disapparating now and leaving others of us who DO wish to quash Malfoy's plans and his new illness - or will that mess your hair up?" Dr Crabbe added, with approving looks from the other Aurors.  
  
The blonde witch merely scoffed derisively, sticking her palm out at Dr Crabbe and Disapparating away muttering "Whatever!" as she left.  
  
"Right," Dr Crabbe continued, more exasperated, "The opening is behind me, we should walk in single file because the path has a ninety feet drop on either side inside the tunnels, so we shall have to be careful. And I shall tell you now, so that you are not alarmed in the possible event of seeing a dragon."  
  
A few people gasped and panicked as he said this.  
  
"There is nothing to be worried about.."  
  
"Except being burned to a crisp!" a tall muscular brown haired wizard interrupted.  
  
"Now really!" Crabbe shouted, "You people are Aurors from the Ministry, this shouldn't be a big deal for you. And anyway, the dragons would be most likely to be a Welsh Green, so you are in NO immediate danger," he said giving the wizard who had interrupted him a dirty look.  
  
Before long, the troupe of the remaining Ministry Aurors, Dr Crabbe, Hermione, Cho and Harry entered the tunnels, which turned out to be very dark even though it was the middle of the day outside.  
  
The group walked silently for what seemed like hours, occasionally stepping on a rock or snail shell. As Harry looked to the sides he saw the promised deadly drop to the bottom and shuddered, holding Cho's hand from behind.  
  
"You okay, Harry?" Cho asked.  
  
"Yeah course, I'm just worried about your safety, Cho. I'm here to protect you after all."  
  
Cho frowned, "Harry.." She scolded, "We can discuss sexism in the Wizarding world when we get home."  
  
They walked further but stopped for a short rest; it was not possible to sit down for long, as the path got narrower.  
  
The group eventually came to a wide opening, which forked, in two different directions. Dr Crabbe stopped and turned to face the group, slowly so as not to fall and said, "I have not been to this place in years and I cannot remember which way to go, thus myself, Mr and Mrs Potter, Hermione Weasley, Amy, Martine and Antoine shall take the left path and the rest of you take the right."  
  
The path they took was dimmer and more perilous than the course they had previously taken. However, after only a few minutes of walking, there came a dead end which created a wave of exasperation within the group.  
  
"Don't worry," Dr Crabbe said smiling at them, "this is just the portal wall which can be opened using a snake."  
  
The group just looked at Crabbe quizzically.  
  
He conjured a thick black mamba from thin air and held it in his arms.  
  
"Draco, Gregory and I used to use snakes to open this place up - its tongue is made to lick the wall and then you tell a lie while you do it resulting in the opening of the vortex."  
  
Everyone looked at him, both impressed and puzzled.  
  
"Draco's father, Lucius, made this place for us. Kind of like a treehouse for wizards," he said, smiling looking towards Harry and Hermione who had grown up as Muggles.  
  
Harry looked at Cho and managed a smile, which she did not return.  
  
The group watched as Dr Crabbe held the snake's head in his hand and passed its tongue along the stone wall muttering something to the snake.  
  
The spot where the snake had licked the wall lit up in a small circle which grew bigger and started spinning, sucking Crabbe into it. The black mamba was on the ground now, but the vortex had closed up.  
  
The Italian born Auror, Antoine began to pick up the snake but it snapped furiously at him, making the others back away. It was now slithering towards the group, snapping violently, baring poisonous fangs.  
  
"Did Dr Crabbe have to conjure SUCH a deadly snake?" Amy Wexlar, a tall black Auror of the highest degree asked, vexed.  
  
The mamba was very fast, and was threatening the group.  
  
Harry stepped forward and faced the snake, "Leave this to me," he said to the others.  
  
He looked straight into the snake's large bright yellow eyes and began hissing and spitting at it in Parseltongue.  
  
The snake bowed its head and Harry pointed his wand at it, making it disappear with a crack.  
  
"What did you go and do THAT for?" Martine, a large beefy witch asked Harry, irked, " we won't be able to get in now!"  
  
"Yes we will," Harry answered, calmly. He pointed his wand to his other hand, muttered 'Serpensortia!' and a bright green snake appeared in his arms. "But this time we're going to use a harmless grass snake."  
  
The snake began talking to Harry with spitting and hissing, and Harry replied it, not realising that everyone was looking at him as if he was talking to a Death Eater.  
  
He handed the snake to Antoine who, reluctantly at first, took the snake and went into the vortex. Soon it was just Harry and Cho left.  
  
"You going to tell me what you were talking to the snake about?" Cho asked.  
  
Harry beamed at her as she passed into the vortex as well.  
  
And so it was just Harry left. He picked up the snake but didn't use it to get in - he instead made the grass snake disappear with another crack.  
  
He didn't want to use a mere grass snake - he was a Parselmouth! He could use any snake he wanted. So he conjured up a King Cobra which was very feisty when he initially conjured it, but then as he spoke to it, the snake became quite docile.  
  
And so he used the snake to get into the chamber that awaited him, not knowing what lay before him.... 


	7. Lesser of Two Evils

NOTE: Thank you to such readers as dragonsprincess and CNJ, I have taken your criticism into mind and changed the way that certain characters behave - such as Cho. However, I needn't remind you that this is MY story and I am the puppet master so the way that I bring characters across is totally up to me. On the other hand, I'm glad that the majority of you have presented constructive criticism - 'tis well appreciated! In addition to this, if any readers would like to discuss the story with me  
on a more personal level, email me on: aliman99@hotmail.com Also, the next few chapters may take some time to write, as they need thinking through and time - this one took ages! *sigh* I feel a bit like JK herself!  
  
Thanx, Alexei.  
  
Lesser of Two Evils  
  
As Harry entered the vortex, he kept a firm grip on the cobra, so as not to lose it in the time-space continuum. In the whirl of colour that followed him, Harry emerged in an enormous room with high stone walls, lined with stalagmites and stalactites and a large stone throne sat in a large carving of a jackal's mouth. There was no one else in the room with the group, however.  
  
Crabbe turned to face the group, and said, "Well, it seems they must be hiding or they may have left, but before we abandon we should look around, and stay alert!"  
  
"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Hermione yelled, making Antoine jump a foot in the air and everyone stare at her.  
  
She looked back as if they were the crazy ones.  
  
"Well Mad-Eye Moody used to say it to us, okay?" she said in a soft voice.  
  
The group walked around the stone room, Harry keeping close to Cho.  
  
"Harry what are you doing with that snake?" she asked, vexed, as Harry placed the King Cobra on the ground, telling it to follow him.  
  
"Well I have a back up plan up my sleeve in case we do bump into Malfoy and his cronies," he said winking at her.  
  
Suddenly there was a scream from the other side of the room, making everyone run towards the place where it was heard.  
  
It was Martine; she had been stunned and was now lying on the ground, with her eyes widened in horror.  
  
"There's someone else here," Amy said aloud, "Be on your guard everyone, this could be some kind of trick."  
  
Antoine looked as if Christmas had been cancelled and it was made Friday the thirteenth everyday. Amy, on the other hand, reviving Martine, showed no signs whatsoever of giving up.  
  
Everyone spread out again, when there was a shrill scream again, this time it was Hermione and she was still screaming from a far corner of the room.  
  
Everyone ran to her and Dr Crabbe saw an old schoolmate of his with his arm wrapped tightly around Hermione Weasley's, with her wand in his other hand pointing directly at her neck.  
  
"Well, well, well," Crabbe said in a calm tone, "It's been a long time, Gregory Goyle."  
  
Goyle merely nodded and grunted.  
  
"So I see Draco has got you to do his bidding for him now, has he?" Crabbe continued, calmly.  
  
"You could have joined us, Crabbe. He's got Death Eaters all over the country to band together and bring back the Dark Lord," Goyle grunted.  
  
The group looked at Crabbe, Martine was sitting on the ground, utterly bemused.  
  
"Just because my parents were Death Eaters doesn't mean that I'm one."  
  
"You don't know what you're missing, he'll take over soon, I tell ya. We'll be running the Ministry soon," Goyle carried on in a long croak.  
  
Dr Crabbe sighed, "Let go of the girl, Gregory, you're cornered."  
  
"I think not!" Goyle croaked, "Make one move and the girl gets the Cruciatus!"  
  
Everyone paused, wide-eyed.  
  
Then Crabbe did something out of the blue, he pointed his wand at Hermione and said, "No old friend, I'LL take care of her."  
  
Goyle eyed him suspiciously but as Crabbe pointed his wand to Hermione, he quickly pointed it at Goyle and yelled, "Arretza Medusa!"  
  
And in a flash of blinding blue light, Gregory Goyle was no more than a stone statue.  
  
"What did you do to him?" Cho asked worriedly.  
  
Dr Crabbe sighed, and helping Hermione to break free from the statue's grip replied, "It's an antediluvian curse coined by the Ancient Greeks - it hasn't been used for millennia but I came across it in an advanced Defence Against Dark Arts book last year and have perfected my technique."  
  
Amy was staring at him as if he'd said something in Parseltongue.  
  
"You DO know who used that curse before you, don't you, Vincent?" Amy asked him in a hushed tone.  
  
"Yes, yes I do," he replied and continued, looking at the rest of the groups puzzled faces, "the dark wizard, Azazel used it on the people of Pompeii then blamed it on a nearby volcano - it is a very powerful curse which doesn't have a counter curse so far."  
  
Hermione looked at him vexed, "Well it was nice of you to use the curse to save me but really - it WAS dangerous."  
  
"Yes I'm sorry, Mrs Weasley," he replied, "Anyway, to the rest of you - we should press on and find where any other possible allies of Malfoy are."  
  
Thus the group spread out again and moved about the room, now even more cautious and on tenterhooks because of their encounter with Goyle.  
  
Hermione suddenly called out to the rest, "Where's Antoine?" the others made their way towards her, "she disappeared near this stone - in fact I could have sworn she became invisible right here."  
  
She walked to the place where she had pointed and lo and behold - Hermione had disappeared too!  
  
A light switch seemed to have been flicked on in Crabbe's head.  
  
"Of course!" he said, happily, "this is the concealed room! That throne over there," he said pointing to the carved jackal's head, "could have someone sitting in it, and anyone on the other side of the room where we are couldn't see them!"  
  
He turned to face the others, "We don't know what's on the other side, so remain on your guard - I see that Antoine and Hermione have not returned yet.."  
  
Hence they all stepped into the room and what Harry saw made him be physically sick.  
  
There was a pile of human carcasses in one corner, torn, twisted, bleeding and broken. Harry was even more repulsed when he saw that some of their limbs were still twitching and that there were weak moans coming from the pile.  
  
On the other side of the room were a crowd of people, all wearing red wizard's robes and pointing every wand at Harry, Crabbe, Cho, Martine and Amy. Two of them had Hermione and Antoine in a headlock and had their wands pointing at their necks.  
  
And sat on the jackal throne was, not Draco, as Harry would have thought but...  
  
"Blaise Zabini!" Harry yelled.  
  
"Yes," he replied in a deep hiss. He was wearing a long deep purple silk cloak and had a box-shaped hat on his head. His face was unusually charred and his eyes were deep black holes.  
  
Harry couldn't believe it, and then spotted Malfoy standing next to Zabini, with a wide smirk across his face.  
  
"Bet you thought I was behind all this, eh Potter?" he smirked at him evilly, "No, I'm just an ally in this - the real mastermind is my fellow Slytherin, Lord Zabini here."  
  
"You're a Lord now?" Crabbe asked quizzically.  
  
"Well what else would we call him?" one of the red robed witches answered in a long drawl, "It was he who created the Serpentine Myopia illness using Dark Magic of the highest calibre."  
  
"You-you CREATED Serpentine Myopia!?" Dr Crabbe spluttered.  
  
"But of course," Malfoy added, "Who else would be able to translate ancient Dark Magick books from Egypt, with dark spells used by Isis herself?"  
  
"You used the spells of Isis?" Amy cried, utterly shocked, "Do you know how powerful that magic is? It's like the essence of Magical Darkness - there are some spells in there from the depths of Duat, and the valleys of Hell. It's just as bad as using the spells of Abaddon - you could break open the Gates of Hell!"  
  
"That's the idea ...." Zabini growled, "I have undergone no less than three magical transformations. I visited the Lake of Fire itself to absorb its Darkness and evil. I have returned with utter spite in my heart."  
  
Zabini rose up off his seat and hovered above them. He pointed his hand towards one of the red robed wizards.  
  
He muttered something in another language, and the wizard cried out with a chilling scream. Harry watched in awe.  
  
The red robed wizard was being burnt alive, his skin was peeling off and his skeleton was showing quickly. The person was burning away to his bones rapidly and innumerable daggers appeared from thin air and stabbed him in various parts of his incinerating body.  
  
His cries reached the ceilings and echoed off the stone walls, hurting their eardrums.  
  
However, this was not the end of his suffering - several whips lashed loudly against his horribly disfigured carcass. He was still alive because he was yelling in terrible pain and his cadaver was breaking into pieces now.  
  
Cho ran out near the wizard and cried, "STOP IT! Leave him alone! NO ONE DESERVES THIS TORTURE!"  
  
Zabini looked to her and smiled with his devilish grin. Harry was shocked to see a forked tongue poke out momentarily.  
  
The man was still yelling, but Zabini clapped his hands together and the man returned to normal, as if he hadn't been tortured at all.  
  
"You see, Potter," Zabini whispered to him, "True power is showing what you can do, and how far you can go, but also how you can stop it...." he clicked his fingers and the man who had been previously tortured fell to his knees and died, "...dead."  
  
He was now right in front of Harry and was so close, their noses almost touched.  
  
"I can do anything I want Potter," he said in a deadly whisper. Then he touched Harry's scar, making it bleed heavily. Harry fell to his knees but found that he couldn't make his arms rise to fight Zabini.  
  
"You've been beaten Zabini," Harry muttered, "this illness - it's over...."  
  
"Oh is it really, Potter?" Malfoy drawled from across the room, "What makes you so sure?"  
  
"The Minister has secured off all the affected areas..." he stopped to mop up some blood that was running down his face, "....and pretty soon we'll end you as well."  
  
Zabini slapped Harry across the face, making him fly across to the other side of the room where the invisible room was unable to be seen. Harry had stopped bleeding now, however and regained use of his limbs.  
  
"You need to understand something, Potter," Zabini continued as Harry reappeared in the room, "I CANNOT be beaten! I could make everyone here have Serpentine Myopia and you'd eating your words to your sad grave!"  
  
Harry looked at him through his long fringe - the blood that was running down his face before had now dried to form a scab. Cho was stood in the corner of the room with a red-robed wizard pointing a wand at her.  
  
"But then, it would be no fun," Zabini hissed, "so what I did was, to make the illness have only two sufferers left..."  
  
"Who?" piped up Hermione was who was still being held captive.  
  
"Well it could have been you, you filthy little Mudblood, but I decided to give it to your friend Antoine here and.. Dr Crabbe!"  
  
And in an instant, Dr Crabbe's eyes went milky white, as did Antoine's. Thin, worm-like shapes began wriggling under their skin and the two men's screams were incredible. They fell to the ground and thrashed around hysterically.  
  
"You... you...scoundrel!" Amy yelled through the red robed wizard's arms that had her in a headlock.  
  
Zabini looked at her and said in a deadly whisper, nearing her, "Oh look it's a half blood. Just common half-blood FILTH! Your kind are like... PARASITES! You take over and flood the country with tainted blooded wizards," he laughed a cold, menacing laugh, "but I, Blaise Zabini of Slytherin will put an end to all of this. I am going to open the Gates of Hell and using this," he brandished a long, thin sabre, "I will bring forth the Dark Thestrals from the Abyss to collect all the Muggle Born and Half Blood witches and wizards."  
  
"That's..that's...." Amy stuttered, staring transfixed at the sabre in Zabini's hands.  
  
"What's wrong? Owl got your tongue?" he laughed, "This is the Talvaar-e- Yawmiddeen!"  
  
There were gasps from around the room, and Cho had fainted. Dr Crabbe had resorted to a torpor on the cold stone floor, twitching occasionally. Antoine was now talking to himself in Italian.  
  
"Well call me soft, but I'm giving you a chance," Zabini said in a superior voice, jerking out of his dreamy stare at the sabre, "This illness will truly be over if you kill ONE of these two here," he pointed to Crabbe and Antoine who went back to rolling around on the floor in anguish.  
  
"The surviving one will recover straightaway, as this illness only works when another person has it too."  
  
Harry knew what he had to do, but it was so unfair. He made the decision to kill Antoine - the needs of the many were more important than one Auror. Antoine would die a hero's death.  
  
He pointed his wand to Antoine and yelled, "AVADA KEDAVRA!" making him fly 7 feet up and his body broke into pieces. Someone else had performed the same curse simultaneously - and Harry could see that it was...  
  
"Draco Malfoy, what in the blazes do you think you're doing?" one of the red robed wizards growled maliciously.  
  
However, Malfoy did not answer, instead he pointed his wand towards his neck and performed the killing curse upon himself.  
  
Malfoy's body fell to the floor in a crumpled heap.  
  
"Well, well, well," Zabini said hovering over to where Malfoy's carcass lay, "a traitor...how very interesting. It seems Draco really WAS just a sheep."  
  
Dr Crabbe got up the stone floor, brushing himself off and looking around, counfounded, "Where am I?"  
  
"Dr Crabbe!" Harry cried, "You're...you're okay!"  
  
"Well of course I am Potter! Why wouldn't I be? Now tell me why am I not in my restaurant in Paris?"  
  
Hermione looked at him uneasily.  
  
Zabini flew over to Crabbe, and clicking his fingers together, tied Harry in up in chains that appeared out of nowhere.  
  
He looked to Crabbe and smiled a menacing smile.  
  
Crabbe smiled back, "Hello. Can YOU tell me why I'm here? My niece, Artemis, I left her in charge of my greengrocery stall. I can't keep it that way, she can be terribly absent-min..."  
  
Dr Crabbe stopped talking abruptly because after a sharp stare from Lord Zabini, he was no more than a pile of ashes.  
  
And then Harry felt it - a deep fury rising up in his body like molten magma. He looked to his left and roared, "ANGUIS ADEO!"  
  
In an instant, thousands of snakes appeared from the chamber, some looked as if they had been hiding there all the time; some burst through the stalagmites and stalactites, others breaking through the stone floor which was now full of holes from which all kinds of snakes had come through.  
  
There were so many different kinds as well - vipers, cobras, mambas, boas, pythons, garter snakes, rat snakes, rattlesnakes, adders, asps and even anacondas all lined up to fight.  
  
As Harry's rage rose, the chains broke from his body and he himself hovered a few inches off the ground as Zabini did.  
  
This was not wand magic, this was natural magic, fuelled by his fury, Harry commanded the snakes to charge forward and attack the red robed wizards. He had Transfigured Hermione, Cho, Martine and Amy into stone statues so that the snakes would not harm them.  
  
It was pandemonium - there were screams echoing off every wall in the cave and snakes were snapping, climbing, slithering and hissing everywhere in the room.  
  
The snakes seemed to be avoiding Zabini, however.  
  
Noticing this, he began to laugh, a cold cruel laugh that became louder in a crescendo that shook the walls of the tunnels.  
  
Harry's rage was not quashed by this drawback and he flew ten feet into the air and yelled in a booming, unnatural voice, "EXPERGO KRAKEN!" He brought his fists up and, as if struggling to raise them, they shook in effort. He gazed at the ground before him.  
  
There was a distant rumbling and for the first time, Zabini looked terrified. This was not like the Dark Magick he used - this was the essence of Magick.  
  
From the spot Harry had been staring at came a sudden explosion, as the ground broke, followed by a colossal creature that seemed to be making its way to the surface.  
  
When it was fully out, Zabini stared, horrified. Harry had evoked the mythical Kraken, a Sea Serpent of immense magnitude, taking up all the space in the tunnel, with just the top part of its body.  
  
Harry looked at it, with utter malice in his eyes and began spitting and hissing angrily at the Kraken in Parseltongue to attack Zabini.  
  
In an instant, the Kraken roared with such intensity that the walls began crumbling, and the tunnels shook momentarily with a small tremor.  
  
It ran with its vast jaws wide open at Zabini. But Zabini was more than a match for the creature and evaded its attacks with skill.  
  
Harry continued to hiss instructions to the Kraken, which showed no signs of fatigue.  
  
After what seemed like hours, Harry began to feel weaker. Zabini wasn't bluffing - he really was a great Dark Wizard.  
  
Harry slowly descended to the ground and fell onto the hard, cold ground in a dead faint... 


	8. Defeat of the Serpent

B4 U READ THIS CHAPTER - I have included some elements from the Order of the Phoenix in this chapter so if u haven't read it yet, u may want to leave this chapter out. I don't give away so much, I just use, as I said some elements from it, a new discovery of Harry's of the Wizarding World. Sorry about this chapter taking so long to write, but it was the hardest one to think of. *sighs* Not that many people read my stories anyway. Again thank you to dragonsprincess and CNJ for their support and hope that this work did not go to waste - TA! ENJOY! Your truly Alexei James.  
  
Defeat of the Serpent  
  
"Harry! Harry!" an indigo robed wizard bent down over Harry Potter was slapping him across the face.  
  
Harry opened his eyes and heaved himself up. His scar was stinging and his head was thumping with a headache.  
  
Cho was stood with her back to him, with suppressed sobs.  
  
"Cho?" he said groggily.  
  
She turned and ran towards him, and embraced him, weeping into his robes.  
  
"Cho, honey, it's okay," Harry said, with his arms around his wife.  
  
He had noticed that there were six wizards in indigo robes; Hermione, Amy and Martine had also been brought back to life and were leaning against the stone walls, looking apparently very exhausted.  
  
These six wizards were the remainder of the entire party that had gone out to the expedition. They were the Aurors who took the alternative route to Dr Crabbe and the others. But there seemed to be less people.  
  
"How come there are only six of you?" Harry piped up.  
  
The Ministry Aurors were scattered around the stone chamber and were all looking around, as if on tenterhooks. There was an enormous hole in the centre of the room, and it was smoking slightly. There was an eerie silence throughout the tunnels which allowed Harry to hear his own thumping heartbeat.  
  
The nearest one, Michel, a French Auror who was the one trying to rouse Harry answered, "The route that we took was a dead end - or so we thought. The trick was to smear blood in a Pentagram shape on the wall and a vortex would open up to this room. However, when the married couple, Fairuza and Nicko Portacollis saw what they had let themselves in for, they Disapparated."  
  
"Wait a minute," Harry said, suddenly remembering everything that had happened - Zabini.... The snakes.... Malfoy...Crabbe was dead...and the Kraken.  
  
"Zabini!" Harry yelled so suddenly that Cho jerked backwards, "Where is he? And the Kraken! Did he kill it? Or did it go with him?"  
  
A witch with bright orange curly hair who was standing on the other side of the room answered, "When we arrived there was a colossal hole which led down to a great pit, right into the seas. There was no one in here except Hermione Weasley, Amy Wexlar, Martine and Cho. For some reason they were frozen as statues, care to explain that Mr Potter?" she pointed her wand at him from across the room.  
  
Harry gave Cho a meaningful look and stuttered, "I conjured up snakes to consume the Dark Wizards who were working for Zabini."  
  
"And you say that you brought forth the legendary Kraken?" A square-jawed wizard from Harry's left called, nearing him. Leaning over him he whispered through gritted teeth, "Do you realise the seriousness of what you have done? The Kraken will not stop at the Tunnels of Sousoll - it will go forth and destroy all in its path!"  
  
Harry suddenly got up and seized the square-jawed wizard by his robes, aware of his thumping headache more than ever now. Cho grabbed him by the shoulder to hold him back.  
  
"Don't you dare blame me for trying to fight a Dark Wizard with the only power I could muster," he shook Cho's arm off irritably and then continued, "In these situations you have to fight fire with fire. I'm not going to go soft on Zabini. YOU can, but I don't want to see the rest of us fall before another Dark Wizard."  
  
The square-jawed wizard released himself from Harry's grip irritably.  
  
"Well if you get the chance to quell Zabini, remember to kill him and not just to let him go like you did with You-Know-Who," he snarled maliciously.  
  
Harry looked as if he would have charged at the wizard and started fighting but before both of them had known what happened, there was a flash of purple light from across the chamber, which hit Harry and the square-jawed wizard.  
  
The witch with luridly orange curly hair walked over to the two of them as their arms snapped to their sides, their legs clashed into one another and their jaws snapped shut - she had performed the Full Body Bind on them.  
  
"Hmm, tut tut," she muttered looking at the two, "One's an Auror for the Ministry and the other is a School Governor of Hogwarts and bank manager at Gringotts. Fully grown men, both of whom are part of the Dark Arts Defence League and yet they bicker like schoolboys."  
  
She bent down and sighed, Cho looking horrified. Hermione came over and performed the counter-curse.  
  
"Ouch," Harry said, coming round, "I had a severe headache already and then I fall on my head..."  
  
The curly haired witch sighed, "Well then remember that next you're in a room with Lacuna Coil, never to fight, okay?"  
  
Harry scowled at her, nodding. The square-jawed wizard just glared at her angrily.  
  
"You too, Hester," she said forcefully.  
  
"You can't tell me what to do," he snarled.  
  
Lacuna merely smiled at him condescendingly and suddenly her face exploded with scorpion tails, bulging black eyeballs and she roared in an unearthly way.  
  
Hester's eyes widened and he let out a little yelp.  
  
Lacuna got up, her face was back to normal now but she said, shaking her orange hair, "Remember not to mess with an Auror that also happens to be a Metamorphmagus."  
  
Harry, still sat on the cold stone floor could see that Lacuna's hair was now raven-black, but beyond the black of his hair - it was almost an unnatural darkness.  
  
Cho hauled Harry to his feet and muttered, "You should rest, your scar was bleeding earlier."  
  
He looked at her with a meaningful expression but just looked to the ground.  
  
"No they need me, we can all take on Zabini," he said in a low voice, "that is, if the Kraken didn't kill him already."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
Hours passed, but there was no sign of Zabini or the Kraken.  
  
"It must have killed him off," Michel concluded looking at the rest of them hopelessly.  
  
"Shall we all pack up and go home then?" Bruma Plat, a thin-lipped, aged witch queried.  
  
But Lacuna was looking pensive, with her hair now being silvery and down to her waist - it was unusually stiff and flat looking, as if it was made of layers of shiny metal rather than hair.  
  
"No, NO!" she yelled so suddenly that Bruma's wrinkly face seemed to spread out as she stared at Lacuna with disapproval.  
  
"What now?" Hester asked tetchily.  
  
She threw him a scowl, which made him flinch and gaze suddenly at the floor.  
  
"We can't be sure whether Zabini is gone or not," she said, gaping thoughtfully at the high stone ceiling.  
  
There was a murmur of agreement from the Ministry Aurors, Hermione and Cho.  
  
"However," she said, licking her lips with relish, "there IS a way to find out what happened to the Kraken.... Mr Potter here," she indicated Harry, "can evoke the ancient creature, that is if he CAN. I'm sure it's perfectly impossible. Even Isis herself would not be able to do it in her early days when she was of the calibre of most highly skilled wizards of today."  
  
"I DID evoke it!" Harry said, shaking slightly. His head seemed to be being hit on the head every few seconds with a large iron hammer, and his scar stung faintly.  
  
"Oh really?" Bruma said, rounding on him and staring at him with her thin lips and ancient face, "Care to tell us HOW you did it then, Mr Potter? Because you see, the Kraken has not been evoked for millennia."  
  
Harry let out a deep sigh.  
  
"I'm not sure how I did it exactly -."  
  
"AHA!" Hester cut in rudely, "he does not know! He is clearly lying!"  
  
There was a vein throbbing at his temple, and he was seething with rage.  
  
"I HAVEN'T FINISHED!" Harry yelled. Michel eyed him worriedly, Lacuna stared at him as if he was the basis of some deep reverie she was experiencing and Cho sat down on the stone floor, blatantly exasperated.  
  
"Well do carry on then," Michel said, beaming politely.  
  
"Right, well...." Harry seemed to have to lost his train of thought. He was wishing he could run Hester down with a large train... the Hogwarts Express maybe.  
  
"As I was saying - I'm not EXACTLY sure how I evoked the Kraken, but I knew that I was so angry at Zabini as the snakes I had conjured up didn't affect him in the slightest," Hester made an impatient cough - obviously he was going to comment on Harry's use of snakes in fighting a Dark Wizard especially when snakes are used in the worst kinds of Dark Magick.  
  
"And I felt this rage rising up inside of me, then I rose off the ground and yelled some kind of incantation -."  
  
"Can you remember what it was?" Bruma snapped impatiently.  
  
Harry frowned in concentration, "Um, no. It wasn't wand magic, so I'm not sure how it worked. The spell was in Parseltongue so I can't say it now, I need to be face to face with a snake to say it."  
  
But some of the Aurors were looking thunderstruck, Harry had half expected this - it was common knowledge that Parselmouths like himself were looked upon with disgust.  
  
"You did what?" Bruma asked in a breathless whisper that was barely audible.  
  
"I - I uttered a Parseltongue incantation - why?" Harry said, flummoxed.  
  
There was a sharp intake of breath, which Hermione broke, "Harry.... Magic in Parseltongue is one of the most deadly and powerful forms magick there is. You can perform such extreme spells that would be impossible with spoken wand magic."  
  
A harsh silence followed this revelation. Obviously not all of the Aurors had known that much about Parseltongue Magick by the way they were eyeing Hermione.  
  
"Well I say, you evoke the Kraken, Mr Potter," Lacuna said with utmost enthusiasm in her voice.  
  
"You can't be serious!" Cho yelled abruptly, getting to her feet, "Do you know how heinous a creature it is? It's of a great magnitude, it would swallow us all up!"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Martine roared, "There is no evidence that Potter here can conjure up a dragon!"  
  
"It's not a dragon, we're talking about the Kraken, the ancient sea serpent -."  
  
" - I don't care if it's an overgrown Basilisk, it's not being awoken!"  
  
" - What do you mean CONJURE? You can't just make something as large as that appear suddenly!"  
  
The bickering between the Aurors continued.  
  
Hermione walked slowly towards Harry, amongst the arguing Aurors. She took his hands in hers and spoke in a faint, pleading voice that was of the school girl Harry had grown up with in Gryffindor Tower at Hogwarts, "Harry, I believe you. Remember what Luna Lovegood said before she killed herself? 'The truest magic is that which is inside your heart, not from the core of your wand'. She would have liked to see you bring justice to the world."  
  
Harry, still with his hands clutched in Hermione's grip, felt a smile forming on his face and laughed, "She always did come up with all sorts of codswallop that girl!"  
  
Hermione hugged Harry tightly, laughing.  
  
And as she let him go, Harry closed his eyes - concentrating hard and holding his hands at his sides he felt himself rising up off the stone floor again.  
  
The Ministry Aurors had stopped squabbling at the sight of him.  
  
"I say!" Bruma gasped with an unmistakably impressed tone.  
  
"Dear Lord..." Hester trailed off, his wand falling from his hand with a clatter.  
  
Lacuna could not decide whether to keep her mouth open or shut, resulting in the impression that she was imitating a goldfish.  
  
Harry was now at least five feet off the ground; he opened his eyes and looked down at them all. The pain in his scar and his head had numbed and he felt that same surge of power he did when he brought forth all those snakes.  
  
Then he felt it, rising 15 feet above the ground now, he felt the serpent inside himself. He could hear its voice, its feelings, its wishes, its instincts and also seething, searing, serpentine anger. He could feel the red, it rose inside his chest and was at boiling point.  
  
His breath was now harsh, slow and sharp. His heart was thumping so fast and furiously that it felt as if a fist was pounding into a hand under his chest.  
  
With his animal instincts kicking in, he bared his teeth and with a final deep breath roared with a hiss, "EXPERGO KRAKEN!"  
  
And then it happened - a deep rumbling from below the surface sounded throughout the tunnels. The Ministry Aurors all looked around in panic and Hester fell to the floor.  
  
Bruma was paralyzed with horror, Michel seemed to be as well but Lacuna was backing away slowly.  
  
Bits of rock fell from the top of the tunnels, the earth was shaking violently now.  
  
Then suddenly a great explosion seemed to have taken place from the far end of the chamber, and out rose the Kraken - with its gleaming green scales as large as dinner plates tightly tessellated across its vast slimy body, it rose from the depths of the Irish Sea beneath them resembling a resurrected wreck. Its extensive fangs the size of lampposts glistened maliciously as it let out an ear piercing hiss.  
  
Its deafening roars shook the walls of the Tunnels of Sousoll. Harry was sure the tunnels would collapse and cave in if the Kraken kept up its vulgar displays of power.  
  
The Aurors were looking at the beast with utter terror, some looking over at Harry whose eyes were now glowing bright green.  
  
Harry began hissing instructions at the Kraken who was beginning to look at the Aurors hungrily.  
  
The Kraken understood Harry and began to look around for signs of Zabini, its enormous forked tongue as big as a lorry flicking in and out.  
  
However, as it turned to look in the darker parts of the tunnels, it abruptly turned and faced Harry.  
  
Harry motioned it to go and look, but there seemed to be a sense of rebellion within the beast that caused it to lunge at him suddenly.  
  
Cho screamed as Harry pulled out of the Kraken's way quickly.  
  
He did not understand what was going on - surely Hester was not serious about the Kraken being a reckless, untameable creature.  
  
The Kraken made fresh attempts to attack Harry, and so Harry, knowing that it was too risky to keep everyone safe, turned all the Aurors and Cho to stone with a click of his fingers.  
  
This did not make any sense - the Kraken was obeying him fully when he evoked it before. No serpent disobeyed a Parselmouth, even enormous, ancient sea serpents who had been asleep for thousands of years.  
  
Harry was getting tired now of trying to evade the Kraken's lunges. It was lucky that the beast was so large because it took a while for it to get back up and try to attack Harry again.  
  
Then it hit him - he HAD lost his authority over the Kraken, but not because it had some antediluvian instinct to kill, but because it was under someone else's control. And Harry a pretty clear idea who was controlling it - Who else had such Dark powers as have not been seen since the Dark Wizard Voldemort or Grindelwald? Who had absorbed such Dark Magicks as darkness from the Lake of Fire and the Spells of Isis?  
  
Of course Harry had no idea where Zabini WAS. He was nowhere in sight, so the only other options were that he was either invisible or he was inside the Kraken.  
  
But Harry couldn't keep flying like this - he felt himself weakening.,,,,,,,  
  
He prepared himself for another dead faint, which would result in his inevitable death....  
  
.....But then a tiny voice in his head spoke 'Don't give up now!'  
  
Harry jolted awake and was surprised to find himself on the ground.  
  
"What?" he asked, shocked.  
  
'Get up off the floor, and show that snake what you're made of! Don't give up now!'  
  
The voice was shouting so loudly at Harry, he ran out of the way just in time as the Kraken slammed its tail down at him.  
  
'Come on! Fly like you did before, FLY!'  
  
"I can't!" Harry cried but as he did, felt his shoulders hunching and the skin on his shoulder blades breaking.  
  
He let out a gasp as two magnificent bat-like wings grew out of his back, unfurling quickly.  
  
Harry had no idea how to use these, but he did not need to, as they flapped of their own accord and pulled him out of the way of the Kraken's elephantine tail as it smashed its way through some stalactites and stalagmites.  
  
But Harry couldn't continue to fly about aimlessly evading the Kraken, what he wanted..... What he really NEEDED was some sort of weapon.  
  
And as if his prayers had been answered, two gleaming gold bladed swords hovered before him. With their thin gold blades and sapphire hilts, they outshone the Kraken's gleaming yellow eyes. They were so long; they could have sliced a man in half with one blow.  
  
The Kraken seemed to be under the Impediment Jinx, because its tail was twenty feet from hitting Harry but appearing to be in slow motion.  
  
'Take them,' the voice whispered in a girlish whisper.  
  
"What are they? And who are you?" Harry asked, utterly perplexed.  
  
'Oh never mind that now - use these to kill the Kraken. They are the Katana of Schwarzewald, ram them into the Kraken's throat and it will die.'  
  
"You want me to KILL the Kraken?" Harry enquired; he didn't know why he was concerned about the Kraken's wellbeing, seeing as it had attempted to kill him so many times but still felt it shameful to slaughter a creature so ancient and magical.  
  
'Oh don't worry, the Kraken doesn't stay dead for long! No - it will melt and soon enough when all its body parts will have reconnected and become whole it will live again. Remember the Kraken is immortal, so there is no way it can DIE. But Blaise is controlling it and I have not seen Dark Magick this powerful since Grindelwald.'  
  
Harry was not sure this voice was real, it sounded so confusing and far- fetched that he almost decided that he was becoming Schizophrenic.  
  
However, he noticed that the Kraken's tail had stopped dead, now less than ten feet away from him.  
  
'Well you ready?' the voice asked. It was strangely booming and masculine now, which reinforced his idea that he was imagining the voice.  
  
Nevertheless he looked down at the Katana in his hand, six feet in length, he was not sure he could hold them without dropping them -  
  
'Don't worry about their weight, seeing as you're human," the voice added, now sounding aged like some sort of old woman, with an air of derision, 'I made them feather-light.'  
  
Right, Harry thought, I was clearly knocked silly by the fall and now I'm dreaming that there's a small voice in my head who's given me wings, weapons and a way to kill an ancient and magical sea serpent. I just hope I wake up in time to tell Cho this dream she'll laugh so m -  
  
' - Would you listen!?' the voice cut in, 'Remember the THROAT of the Kraken, do not go for its eyes, its mouth or its belly. Not because it will kill it - it CAN'T die; because it will be in so much pain that it might smash the Tunnels to rubble....'  
  
Shut up, Harry thought, Please just shut up and stop going on like some sort of senile old bat.  
  
'Senile am I?' the voice, now booming and masculine again asked, 'Well if this was a dream, would this happen -.'  
  
And suddenly, the Kraken's tail aimed for Harry with a deafening plunge. The wings, however, had heaved him out of the way just in time, although one of the wings merely brushed its tail.  
  
Harry noticed the swords in his hand and decided that the only way he was going to either wake up from this dream or beat Zabini was to quell the Kraken.  
  
And as the voice had said, he looked to see where its throat was, but it didn't seem to have one - just loose scaly skin under its long jaws.  
  
"Well I'll have to slash at something," Harry said to himself, and he flew forwards to the Kraken.  
  
It had not seen him yet, but turning its head sideways, it glimpsed him and opened its gargantuan jaws wide, baring its fangs and tried to swallow Harry as it made yet another furious attempt to swallow him.  
  
Harry did not have to worry about evading capture though - the wings seemed to have a mind of their own.  
  
The wings now brought him behind the serpent, and immediately made for the back of its head.  
  
It turned around just as Harry was about to slash the back of its neck, instead hacking at its fangs.  
  
The Kraken yelled in pain, again shaking the walls of the tunnels but as its enormous fangs fell the ground, it bashed its tail straight at one of the statues that were the Aurors and crushed it to pieces.  
  
Harry stomach gave a somersault - Cho was motionless as well, she could have been smashed.  
  
Then Harry felt the anger rise in him, it rose and bubbled to the top. And snarling with a primal cry he swooped beneath the Kraken's lower jaw and pierced the skin underneath it with one of the Katana.  
  
The beast yelled in pain, with a horribly unearthly roar sounding like a lion, cat and elephant at the same time.  
  
It quickly changed to deep, demonic moan as Harry rammed the second Katana in the creature's throat.  
  
Harry shuddered at the frightening sound it made and flew backwards hastily as it fell with a deafening CRASH.  
  
He now soared down to where the creature had landed, it was lucky that the rest of the Aurors were unscathed, as the Kraken had taken up most of the room in the chamber.  
  
Glancing at the Kraken, he let out a horrified gasp, as he saw a bloody and severely charred hand groping its way out of the cuts on the Kraken's throat.  
  
Harry took his wand out cautiously, and could feel his heart playing a thunderous drum roll under his ribs.  
  
His wand aimed at the hand, he saw a horrendously wounded Zabini, crawling his way out. But he only had one arm remaining and his chest seemed to have been slashed by the Katana.  
  
Harry was sure that Zabini would not make it and lowered his wand.  
  
"You...." Zabini uttered in a voiceless croak, "You....will pay...."  
  
"Oh really?" Harry said confidently, grabbing hold of Zabini's robes, lifted him up off his feet and threw him forwards so that he hit the Kraken's jaws.  
  
He aimed his wand back at Zabini and looked over to the frozen Aurors, trying not to think about the crushed one.  
  
"You know," Harry said in a quiet and threatening whisper, "there was once a man called Bartemius Crouch Senior who loathed Dark Wizards with such a passion that he would sink to their pathetic level.... and kill them."  
  
Zabini merely blinked at Harry through his bloody face  
  
"Look at you," Harry continued in a bitter voice that did not seem like his own, "cowering there in your beautiful velvet robes, great Dark Wizard," he let out a derisive and scathing laugh, "When will people understand? When will they understand that there is no good magic or bad magic - it's a neutral force that can be used in different ways.  
  
"You, who's lived his life in Slytherin, the last to be sorted in our year if I remember correctly," he walked closer to Zabini, who was now shaking with terror, "I don't understand, Zabini WHY you have such a great dislike for Half-Bloods and Muggle-born Wizards. I've never understood it, I always hated Voldemort for it, you see he would not have any reason to be frustrated if there weren't any Muggle-Born or Half-Bloods.  
  
"That is how all prejudice works, Zabini," his voice was becoming bizarrely throaty and was more of a coarse hiss than a voice.  
  
"Anyway, enough talk, it is time for you to feel pain, such as never been felt by you before," Harry raised his wand and pointed it at Zabini's chest, the bleeding stump that was his severed left arm flailed about madly but caused one of the statues to crumble.  
  
Harry's heart was racing again, but before he knew what he did, he said, "Avada Kedavra!" and watched in horror as a blinding green light flew out of the end of his wand and hit Zabini in the stomach.  
  
His yells echoed off the walls, and Harry's eyes widened, and breathing became sharp and rapid as he stood there, poised with his wand still pointing at the carcass that was once Blaise Zabini.  
  
Harry walked over to the statues and with a wave of his wand the Aurors came back to life.  
  
With warm relief he found that Cho was still intact, and ran over to her.  
  
She looked at him confusedly as he embraced her in a tight hug.  
  
"Hey!" she cried with a laugh, "come on, you're all sweaty and bloody...whoa, where did those wings come from?"  
  
Harry turned his head and realised that the bat-like wings that that strange voice had bequeathed unto him were still there.  
  
The Aurors were all talking, utterly flummoxed amongst each other and were now eyeing Harry with suspicion and astonishment, catching sight of his wings.  
  
"Look, I'll explain everything, even these," he said audibly, indicating the wings, "lets just get out of here first."  
  
The Aurors looked at Harry with further confusion but nodded with assent.  
  
He turned back to Cho and said in a quiet voice, "Come on, let's find Hermione and go - I need a shower and a good meal."  
  
There was a cry from some of the Aurors and Harry heard Lacuna scream.  
  
"What's up?" Cho said in a low voice.  
  
Harry shook his head and, hand in hand with Cho walked over to the circle that the Aurors had made.  
  
Lacuna was sobbing hysterically on the stone floor now, Bruma's face had a thunderstruck expression on it and Michel was crouched on the floor rocking back and forth, muttering to himself.  
  
Harry made his way over to the circle of Aurors and saw with absolute horror that Hester was one of the statues which was crushed by the Kraken, but there was another one... it's arms were broken but it's face was so clear, for the other statue that had been crushed was -  
  
"HERMIONE!" Harry wailed, his stomach dropped right to the bottom of his thorax, his breathing became fast once more and his heart, instead of beating, seemed to have stopped completely.  
  
He fell to the ground and grabbed his face with both hands, pulling the skin down as he dragged them downwards.  
  
He didn't know what to say, what to do. He was just in such a state of shock and anguish that he felt as if he did not exist.  
  
Now it seemed he WAS having a dream, a very despondent one at that.  
  
No, he thought, Hermione isn't dead, she's at home with Ron sitting by the fire and arguing like they do and then making up once more.  
  
Cho put a reassuring hand on Harry's shoulder, though he barely acknowledged it.  
  
He took hold of Hermione's hand which was almost completely crushed, but because she had been broken as a statue, it was detached from her torso.  
  
And so he sat there for what seemed like hours, until other Ministry Officials had been called and insisted that he let go of the hand.  
  
It seemed that Ron had died instead of Hermione, as his expression was such as if his soul had been sucked out by a Dementor.  
  
But Harry felt that night as he climbed into bed, as though he had lost a vital organ. For Hermione was the only other person apart from Ron who could truly comprehend him, Cho was no match. Hermione really was dead.... 


	9. Doors

Doors  
  
The morning came with the sun hid behind the occasional cloud, but the day remained rather sunny and bright.  
  
A large house sitting amidst the perfect khaki bricked houses on Privet Drive was a hive of activity teeming with mourners and undertakers preparing a funeral that was to take place there. There were several cars parked outside including a rather prominent black one with space at the back for a dead body. This house at Number 4 was so tall, that it cast such a long shadow upon the front of the house that it made it look like there was a small hill there.  
  
A tall and gangling man with flaming red hair was sat staring out of a window in a bedroom on the fourth floor of the house, head resting on his folded arms which were leaning against the windowsill. He was in immaculate raven-black robes, looking as if he was off to work but he just sat on the bed that he had slept in last night and continued to stare out to the back of the house, the sun blinding him with its morning rays. The clouds suddenly seemed so riveting to him as he followed their slow movement with his eyes, but let out a sudden gasp as if one of the clouds had done something as unusual as winking at him.  
  
There was a knock from outside the polished oak door of the bedroom and a man with jet black hair matching his robes came in.  
  
"Ron, mate, they want you downstairs...," the man who had walked in said in a calm, urging voice, though it was slightly shaky with grief, "some sort of eulogy I think."  
  
Ron looked up from the window and faced the man but did not speak.  
  
"Look," he said in a would-be calm voice, "You don't have to do it if you don't want, it was a stupid idea anyway, don't know what those funeral directors were thinki -."  
  
"No, I'll do it," Ron said suddenly getting up from his seat and taking a deep breath continued, "She would have wanted me to say something about her life, seeing as it was so much more interesting than mine. Thanks Harry."  
  
The pair gave each other meaningful glances and, Harry smirking slightly followed Ron out of the bedroom.  
  
On their way down, they heard some thumping and muffled voices.  
  
Harry stopped dead as he let Ron make his way down to the service which was being held in the Potters' living room, where the coffin containing Hermione Weasley lay.  
  
He stood listening intently, wondering if it was just a fresh infestation of Doxys.  
  
Moving around the second floor, he heard the sounds more loudly from the airing cupboard opposite one of the guest rooms and walked slowly towards it.  
  
If it WAS Doxys, he'd just stun them, thus he held his wand poised at the door of the cupboard.  
  
And upon opening the door he saw what was making all the noise, but it certainly was not Doxys, though it did make him jump.  
  
Ginny Weasley and Colin Creevey were stood, arms all over each other and heads barely a foot apart. They were dressed in their usual Gothic clothes, jewellery and make up - that made them look more than ever like walking corpses or vampires.  
  
Harry made a disgusted sound at the sight that met his eyes and said in a fuming voice, "Ginny...Colin...downstairs - now."  
  
The pair gave him disgruntled glances as they passed him and made their way downstairs to the living room.  
  
"Way to call it a living room," Ginny was saying to Colin while Harry followed them both, "look at the corpse in the middle of it all and you'll see it's just another misnomer present within our society."  
  
"Like...yeah!" Colin said sycophantically.  
  
Harry just rolled his eyes at their conversation - he was used to hearing these two talk about death as if it was some sort of beautiful Tropical Island.  
  
The three of them entered the living room which had been filled with rows of chairs which were filled with witched and wizards all clad in sweeping black robes. The undertakers stood to the back of the room watching the occasion with knowing expressions, obviously they had been to more funerals than most people had in their life.  
  
Ron was sat on the front row, shaking slightly, a piece of paper clutched in his hand.  
  
Cho was sat on the second row and upon seeing Harry, beckoned him forwards.  
  
Harry made his way to the front row and sat down next to Ron and whispered to him, "We're just waiting for your Dad now, he's in the last car with my Aunt and Uncle."  
  
Ron nodded showing that he had acknowledged this.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, a long black car pulled up the driveway, and out came three very harassed looking people - a thin woman with flecks of grey in her blonde hair with a black veil and dress so long, it looked like she was wearing a tent, a large beefy man with a large grey moustache and a black suit that looked so large it could have fit two thin people comfortably and a tall thin man with greying hair and a long nose whose face looked so troubled, it seemed he had never smiled in his life.  
  
And so Ron's father and Harry's Aunt and Uncle had arrived at 4 Privet Drive for the funeral service of Hermione Weasley.  
  
After Ron greeted his father and Harry his Aunt and Uncle, Ron walked to the front and read aloud a speech.  
  
He talked about the unusual circumstances in which him, Harry and his wife had met at Hogwarts in their first year, fighting a troll. He explained how she knew more about magic than most First Years from Pure Blood Families had and she was the first in a line of Muggles. How she had worked at Durmstrang Institution of Magic as the Charms teacher for two years before joining the Ministry of Magic to become an Auror, though working within other departments before receiving this title. As well as her brief liking for the International Quidditch Superstar, Viktor Krum, before she let on her feelings for Ron.  
  
Krum, who was on the third row, bowed his head solemnly and put his hands together, fingers interlocked and breathed a deep sigh.  
  
The speech ended with Ron talking about Hermione's fantastic parents (who were sat on the front row at the far end of the room) and how Hermione was his One and Only.  
  
The service ended with a rendition of 'Zero' originally by Smashing Pumpkins, but performed by Colin Creevey's band, who called themselves "Manslaughtered".  
  
They received rather disapproving looks from a lot of the guests who considered this to be a solemn occasion and not a rock concert, though Hermione's parents and Arthur Weasley were not complaining.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
At the cemetery, Ron and Hermione's parents put the first earth upon Hermione's coffin.  
  
As everyone began to leave, Hermione's Dad turned to Ron.  
  
"Look, son," he said in a brave voice, while his wife stood next to him drenched in tears, "You're a good lad, you know that? I couldn't have wished better for my daughter. I'm glad your family can see beyond the discrimination of lineage that a lot of Wizards hold."  
  
And he smiled at Ron and shook his hand. Mrs Granger gave Ron a kiss, but was still afraid that she would vomit if she spoke, and merely smiled.  
  
On the way back to their car, the Grangers noticed something lying on the ground of the cemetery amongst the weeds in the grass.  
  
Mrs Granger picked it up and saw that it was a soft plush doll that looked a lot like Sirius Black.  
  
She held the doll out in front of her and stared at it for a few seconds, then hugged it and walked to the car with her husband.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
It had been two weeks since Hermione's death and although good news was the last thing that Harry and Cho wanted, it was what they got.  
  
"We have a child for you," Dr Lumen said in a dignified manner, her square spectacles perched on her nose.  
  
"What do you mean, you 'have a child for us'?" Cho asked her in a politely puzzled way, her hands resting on her lap.  
  
Dr Lumen sighed and continued to stare at the Potters through her glasses, with her tight bun and thin lips she looked very much like the old Transfiguration Teacher at Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall.  
  
"What I mean, Mrs Potter," she replied in the same stern tone as before, "is that when you and Mr Potter discovered that you were unable to have children of your own," Cho's eyes quickly darted to the floor, "you agreed to sign up for an adoption program.  
  
"When I say, we have a child for you, I mean that there is an unfortunate child sitting in a group home who is waiting for you to take it home and raise it as your own."  
  
Cho looked up suddenly and Harry's eyes met her and they gave each other confused glances, but looking more like they were not sure id Dr Lumen was just pulling their leg or not.  
  
"Wait," Harry piped up suddenly, making Dr Lumen switch her gaze from Cho to Harry instead and eyed him with a glare so penetrating, he looked to her desk instead to avoid feeling as if he was being X-rayed, "you're saying that.... that.... we have...a child?"  
  
Dr Lumen's nostrils flared and she adjusted her name plaque on her table which shone brightly reading 'Dr A. Lumen'.  
  
"In a manner of speaking," she said, now in a more soft voice, "all you need to do is fill out some forms after looking at the child in question and then...well you can take it home."  
  
Harry laughed unsurely and saw that Cho was beaming joyfully at him. Even Dr Lumen's lips managed to curl their way into a thin-lipped smile.  
  
Cho looked down at the Sirius Doll she was holding and hugged it childishly - Dr Lumen shot her a curious look.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
A few days later, Harry and Cho were home with their new daughter, which they called Murron Lily Potter.  
  
The baby was 11 months old and was an orphan like Harry, whose mother had died in childbirth, her biological father had killed himself one night after an alcohol binge.  
  
And so Harry and Cho began their new life with their new daughter, who brought upon the house of Potter such happiness, as had never been seen before.  
  
It was amazing what paths life took, when one door closed with Hermione's passing, another door opened with Murron coming into the Potters' lives.  
  
But as you may have encountered when you buy something new, it always looks much better behind the counter rather than in your wardrobe. And this was the outcome that the new addition in the Potters' family would prove to bring.... 


	10. Bad Tidings Part One

Okay ppl, I'm talking mainly to dragonsprincess here (love ya babe!) bcoz I don't think anyone else really reads my stories! :( Well CNJ DID but I think she probably gets annoyed by a lot of the realism I put into the stories and Lady Nassah has kept her promise of not leaving a review (thanks!) Anyways, this is the penultimate chapter to the story, and is called "Bad Tidings" it's in two parts, in Chapter 10 and 11 and this brings us to the sticky end of Harry Potter the Adult Years. After this I'll be doing other fics as well but I intend to do an adventure including MWPP. Any readers with MSN messenger want to add me then feel free to do so my addy is: aliman99@hotmail.com  
  
Chapter 10: Bad Tidings Part 1 - Revenge from Barzakh  
  
It had been three weeks now since the new arrival of the Potter family, Murron Potter and Cho, having been too preoccupied with the baby's welfare, had not told many people about her. Now, Harry had kept it from Ron until a few days after Hermione's funeral but Ron did not, or perhaps could not show his delight for them seeing as the woman he loved had died recently.  
  
April came, and Cho decided to hold a 'Baby Shower' in honour of the new arrival, and so her and Harry invited all the necessary people: Remus Lupin, the Weasleys, Cho's parents, Parvati Patil, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Lavender Brown and Severus Snape.  
  
The door bell of Number 4 Privet Drive rang.  
  
"I'll get it!" Ron said in an unusually cheery voice that had not been heard from him for days.  
  
He opened the door and there stood Remus Lupin and Professor Severus Snape.  
  
"Are you going to stand there and gawk at us, Weasley or do you make any intention of inviting us in?" Snape said in a needlessly sarcastic voice.  
  
"Sorry, Professor," he said apologetically, "of course, of course, come in."  
  
Snape strode past him without another word, but Lupin whispered to Ron, "Congratulations."  
  
Ron frowned at him, utterly perplexed, "Pardon? Congratulations for what exactly?"  
  
Lupin laughed and clapped a hand on Ron's back, "You'll see."  
  
When Ron and Lupin entered the cavernous living room where everyone was gathered, with little Murron sitting on Parvati's lap now, looking deeply disgruntled, Harry stood up from his seat and called for everyone's attention.  
  
"Right, as you all know, Cho and I have had been blessed with our new arrival, Murron Lily Potter," there was a short applause in which Snape looked towards the fireplace with an air of disgust, "now, although it's tradition for girls to have two godmothers and one godfather, we thought we'd break the rule and give Murron TWO godfathers!"  
  
There were some confused looks but Alexei, Parvati's artist boyfriend, let out a sudden "HAH!" which caused everyone to look in his direction. Alexei did not look abashed at all by this, however.  
  
"Well..." Harry continued, pretending not to have noticed Alexei's interjection, "firstly, we'd like Murron's godmother to be...."  
  
There was a sharp silence and the room was full of a synthetic tension.  
  
Cho smiled and stood up next to Harry and said, "We'd like Murron's godmother to be GINNY!"  
  
There was polite applause from the room, Snape continued to stare towards the fireplace, now fixing his gaze onto the mantelpiece.  
  
Lupin noticed this and saw what he had been looking at.  
  
"We'd like the first godfather to be..." Cho continued and smiled as she did, "Ronald Weasley!"  
  
Ron went pink in the ears and the applause seemed to fill the living room now, particularly from the Weasley Twins' end. Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, but Snape had a look on his face suggesting that he only attended the baby shower as a favour.  
  
After Harry shook Ron's hand and Cho gave him a hug, Harry went back to announcing the godparents of the child, "And the other godfather that we'd like to look after our beloved Murron, lest anything happen to us, is...."  
  
The tension seemed to stretch to the topmost point of 4 Privet Drive and again, a harsh silence fell upon the room.  
  
Ginny had had a fit of giggles and was now beetroot in the face, Lupin was sat with his hands clasped together and Dean's mouth seemed to have been left open.  
  
Harry laughed and looked at Cho.  
  
"We'd like... we'd like you to be Murron's godfather, Professor Snape," Harry said in a calmer voice than what he had used before.  
  
Snape suddenly tore his eyes away from the mantelpiece and stared at Harry with surprise, evidently he had been daydreaming and had only woken because Harry had said his name. Snape noticed that all eyes were on him now.  
  
"What..What did you say?" Snape asked with a hint of fear in his voice.  
  
"We want you to be our daughter's other godfather," Cho said clearly.  
  
The applause finally came but Snape looked at Cho as if there had been some sort of heinous mistake.  
  
"Are - Are you sure you want ME to be the godfather?" he said in the same scared voice.  
  
Cho laughed, "Of course we do, Professor," and she hugged him tightly.  
  
Snape stood rooted in the spot, still not accepting his newfound responsibility.  
  
"But.. WHY?"  
  
Harry smiled and faced Snape, "Professor, I know you must feel such contempt towards my father, and rightly so," he added surveying the mantelpiece momentarily, "but you have to realise, I'm not my father. I'm not James Potter, I'm Harry Potter. We're different people, and although we may look alike, we're not the same inside."  
  
Snape just continued to stare at him, apparently lost for words.  
  
"Professor, you're one of the most important people in my life, you've saved my neck countless times - ."  
  
" - Only because I had to!"  
  
Harry laughed, "Okay, but I'm really very grateful, and Cho and I would love it if you would accept."  
  
Snape just sighed quickly and turned, walking away, but then he turned back around to face the Potters, and catching sight of their beckoning faces, he cracked his face into an unmistakeable grin.  
  
Harry embraced Snape, and although this had disconcerted him more than the prospect of becoming godfather to Murron, Cho gave him another hug, and a kiss.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
That night, when everyone had gone home, except Ron, Harry took Murron up to her room to put her to sleep.  
  
The room had been decorated in a pale blue colour, because although Cho argued that pink would be a more suitable colour for a girl, the fact remained that the mere sight of the colour pink and Harry would vomit.  
  
He lay the baby down in the cot and began to sing 'Zero'.  
  
"She's the one for me, she's all I really need," he crooned, "She's the one for me, she's my one and only-y."  
  
Murron had not gone to sleep yet but stared up at Harry through her intensely blue eyes.  
  
Harry laughed, picking her up, "I guess you don't like the Smashing Pumpkins then?"  
  
He walked around the room, rocking her gently and singing some daft nursery rhymes that Aunt Petunia would have sung to Dudley when he was a baby.  
  
After a soft rendition of 'Rock a bye baby', Murron's eyes had shut and she was breathing slowly, her tiny fingers curled into minute fists.  
  
Harry lowered her gently into the bed, but as he made to leave the room, he almost cried out in shock at the person who was standing in front of the door.  
  
With glowing red eyes, livid with corruption, skeletally thin spider-like fingers, chalk white skin and slits for nostrils, Lord Voldemort stood facing Harry in his own house.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Harry asked rudely.  
  
Voldemort began to laugh, and began to crescendo but, Harry frantically gestured towards the sleeping baby. He stopped laughing but walked closer to Harry.  
  
"So, I see you have an addition to your pathetic family."  
  
Harry eyed him angrily, "Yeah, but she doesn't need you to spoil her life, Tom."  
  
Voldemort walked closer to the cot, as did Harry, and peered down at Murron.  
  
"Awww," he said mockingly, "Murron eh? What a name, Potter!"  
  
Harry smiled derisively at him, "Well Voldemort isn't exactly too common is it, Tom?"  
  
"Well at least my name doesn't mean 'bitter', Potter. And anyway, there's a reason I'm here."  
  
"Oh, and what's that?" Harry said harshly.  
  
Voldemort walked to the edge of the room, towards the window overlooking the garden of Privet Drive.  
  
"Well you see Potter, I thought it was just someone having a laugh at first, one of my faithful Death Eaters, I daresay."  
  
Harry kept his eyes on Lord Voldemort and let his cold, cruel and deep voice wash over him.  
  
Voldemort stood to face Harry now, and it was amazing how those glowing red eyes looked like fiery rubies, Harry was hypnotized for a few seconds before Voldemort spoke again.  
  
"Destroyed the Dark Wizard, Blaise Zabini did you not, Potter?"  
  
Harry nodded vaguely, still transfixed.  
  
"Well, then you must remember what you did, then to destroy him?"  
  
Harry massaged his face with both his hands and said, "Yes, I killed the Kraken in which he was embedded with these Katana that Pale Hecate gave to me," he indicated a picture of an old woman with deep purple robes and a many headed dog beside her hanging on the wall.  
  
Voldemort laughed, barely making a sound this time.  
  
"No, Potter, what did you use to kill Zabini, when he was free of the beast's control?"  
  
"I-I.." Harry racked his brains to try and remember, "I used the Avada Kedavra, killing curse."  
  
Voldemort smiled a thin-lipped, serpent smile - even his ruby red eyes were smiling.  
  
"Yes, you did," he hissed, "but that was not the only time you used the curse was it, Potter?"  
  
Harry frowned at him.  
  
"What do you mean? I used that curse because Zabini was a bad Dark Wizard, I didn't kill anyone else."  
  
"Liar," Voldemort breathed.  
  
Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at Voldemort, "Make your point and leave, Tom."  
  
Voldemort eyed his wand suspiciously, and Harry could have sworn he'd seen his eyes flashed, frightened at the prospect, but then he smiled and made a flicking hand gesture, causing Harry's wand to fall out of his hand and fall with a clatter on the wall behind him.  
  
"Oh very clever," Harry said irked.  
  
"Look, there is not much time, Potter," Voldemort breathed, he looked down at Murron and flashed his eyes back to Harry, "this baby is better off thrown off the topmost room of this house, Potter. It needs to die."  
  
Harry gave Voldemort a look of utter wrath.  
  
"What!?" he yelled, unaware of the sleeping baby, "Are you mental?"  
  
Voldemort's smile had vanished, "Not mad, Potter, oh no," he breathed, "I know more than you could ever imagine, so do what I say."  
  
At that moment, the door opened and Cho walked in, accompanied by Ron.  
  
"Who were you talking to?" she asked, looking from Harry to Murron to his wand lying on the floor.  
  
Harry looked to the window - Voldemort had gone.  
  
"Murron," he breathed, "I was talking to Murron."  
  
Cho looked at him worriedly, and Ron said, "What's your wand doing there?"  
  
Harry caught sight of his wand lying on the floor near Hecate's picture.  
  
"Oh, slipped from my hand."  
  
"Right.." Cho said disbelievingly, "Well Ron was just about to head off, and he came to see of you wanted to say goodbye."  
  
"Yeah... Of-of course, " Harry said, looking to see Murron who was still asleep.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
Early next morning, Harry got out of bed at daybreak and ran to Murron's room to check she was still there. Voldemort's warning had somewhat disquieted him and he was not sure what he had meant to say before Cho had barged in. Nevertheless, the warning had included Murron, and he seemed to have developed a sense of unneeded protection for his daughter now.  
  
"Oh good," he said, rushing into her room and catching sight of her snoozing away, "you're still here."  
  
Cho had woken up too and came down, hair tousled, puffy eyes and stiff legged. She yawned wide before saying in an exasperated manner, "What are you doing up so early?"  
  
Harry did not answer her and sat down on the floor beside Murron's cot.  
  
"I'm going to wait till she's awake," he said, staring intently at the cot.  
  
"That's ridiculous, some down for breakfast first, we'll be able to hear her when she wakes up. You have work tomorrow, come on."  
  
But Harry remained silent and continued to stare at the bars of the cot.  
  
"Fine then," she said, slightly miffed, "I'll make breakfast for myself, then shall I?"  
  
"You do that," Harry said not turning to face her.  
  
Her angry footfalls died away as she descended the stairs.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
It was nearly midday before Murron stirred at all. Harry smiled gently and left her there, while he went to fetch a bottle of milk for her.  
  
As he entered the kitchen, he saw a not pinned to the fridge. It read:  
  
Harry,  
  
I've nipped out to Diagon Alley for a bit with Marietta.  
  
Cho.  
  
Harry laughed, "Well talk about cryptic!"  
  
He filled a bottle with warm milk and ran upstairs to Murron's room.  
  
The door was ajar and the window was wide open.  
  
"Hmm I don't remember opening the window," Harry said walking into the room and closing it.  
  
Murron was sat up, leaning against the bars of her cot, her Sirius Black doll had been thrown onto the floor and there was a black book inside her cot.  
  
Harry picked up the doll and thrust it back into the cot, "Don't throw Uncle Sirius like that, I keep MY doll on my bedside cabinet."  
  
He spotted the black book in Murron's cot and picked it up.  
  
"Who put this here?" he said as the baby gurgled innocently, "whoa.!"  
  
He opened the book and saw its ancient pages and antediluvian writing. When he finally realised what it was, he threw it to the floor and gasped, staring at it with wide eyes.  
  
"Oh my..." he trailed off, still staring at the book.  
  
He fell to the floor, eyes transfixed at the book.  
  
"The... The Grimoire..." and as he said this, the book caught fire and shrivelled up.  
  
Harry had scarce got time to know what awaited him, but before he knew how or why it happened, Murron was hovering a good two feet above her cot.  
  
Harry let out a strangled cry which echoed thoughout the room.  
  
Murron's face was hideously scarred, there were weals and cuts that had not been there a few minutes ago, her eyes were wide and a pale sickly yellow, but worst of all was the fact that she was smiling widely in a menacing toothless grin.  
  
Harry's eyes were so wide now that they were in danger of popping out of their sockets, his hands were shaking behind him and his mouth wide open in a silent scream.  
  
And to Harry's utter horror, the baby spoke with a heavy, masculine Italian accent, "So Harry Potter, we meet again," it cackled horribly and smiled that terrifying smile again.  
  
"M-Murron?" Harry cried.  
  
It laughed again, this time more quietly, "No, dear boy, the one you call Murron is DEAD. Yes, Dead! Oh it feels so good to have control over a body."  
  
Then it hit Harry, this really wasn't Murron, it was Zabini. He remembered how Voldemort had undergone so many magical transformations, that he did not die properly.  
  
Harry got to his feet and groped for his wand but was horrified to find that it wasn't there.  
  
Breathing quickly, he said in a shaky voice, "Who...Zabini?"  
  
The baby laughed yet again, this time throwing its head back and then resorting to its wicked smile after a long guffaw.  
  
"No, you stupid idiot, I'm not Blaise Zabini!" he roared, "That nincompoop is currently regenerating his power in the Lake of Fire, or so he thinks! Little does he know, he's there for eternity!"  
  
It laughed again. Harry wished the baby would stop laughing, it was really unnecessary.  
  
"Shut up!" Harry yelled.  
  
"What did you say?" it said in that calm Italian voice.  
  
"I told you to shut up! Who are you? And where is my Murron?" Harry pleaded.  
  
The baby did not laugh, it flew forwards slightly and stood balanced on the railing of the cot, like a perched bird.  
  
"What do you want with me?" Harry asked, his voice still shaky with fright.  
  
"I want..." the baby said, it's eyes glinting maliciously, "to kill you."  
  
Harry choked on his own saliva and steadied himself, "What? You can't kill me, you're just a baby!"  
  
The baby glared at him and pursed its flabby lips. The answer appeared in the form of an enormous knife which the baby clutched in its right hand.  
  
Its tiny fingers tightened on the hilt of the Machete and it flew forwards slowly.  
  
"You recognise me yet, Potter?" it asked with a malicious grin on it's horribly scarred face."  
  
"N-No!" Harry said; he knew he should run but his legs would not move as they seemed to be glued to the spot.  
  
Harry looked to his left quickly and sprinted to the door, he turned the doorknob but it would not open.  
  
"You can't leave NOW, Potter!" it roared demonically.  
  
Harry turned to the wall with the picture of Hecate on and pressed his back against the wall, hoping for help.  
  
The baby flew slowly towards him, it seemed that it wanted to savour the minutes that Harry was alive before it finally cornered him... 


	11. Bad Tidings Part Two

dragonsprincess and CNJ, I love u as always. :D! This is the very last chapter of Harry Potter the Adult Years, so plz plz plz REVIEW!!!! :D! Alexei xXx  
  
Bad Tidings Part Two: The Gates of Hell  
  
The front door of Number 4 Privet Drive slammed shut; Cho Potter had just come home.  
  
"Hey!" she called upstairs, fanning herself with her hands against the heat, "I'm home!"  
  
She went into the kitchen, sighing whilst draining a large bottle of Evian completely with thirst.  
  
Cho took the bags full of shopping and began to make her way upstairs slowly, with a fresh bottle of Evian clutched in her hand.  
  
The top stair creaked as it always did, and deciding to check if Harry was still in Murron's bedroom, she walked awkwardly with all her shopping bags to the door. Cho sighed exasperatedly and dropped her bags with a crash on the floor.  
  
"God, in MY day, men would carry the shopping!" she muttered to herself.  
  
And with that she placed her slender manicured fingers upon the brass polished doorknob. Turning it slowly, due to the fatigue of shopping, and opening it, Cho almost screamed out loud at the sight that met her eyes.  
  
Thunderstruck, she gasped and fell to her knees.  
  
Harry was crouched, leaning against the wall on which the picture of Hecate was hung. His arms had been torn out of their sockets, there was a deep red staining his pyjamas, and in the pool of blood before him were his guts all eviscerated, hara-kari style.  
  
Cho let out a strangled cry, unable to keep her eyes off her dead husband, but her eyes roved to the far end of the room where a very large, bloody knife was stabbed several inched into the wall, leaving a trail of blood, thus making it appear as if the wall had been speared and was bleeding.  
  
Yelping, she crawled her way over to his carcass, and slapped it on the face, looking for any signs of life. And through anguished sobs, she lifted up Harry's head and fell back, letting out a loud cry - where Harry should have had eyes, there were bleeding, deep red holes where his eyeballs had been gouged out.  
  
Shaking on the floor and wailing, Cho heard a deep booming cackle. And slowly inclining her head to the cot, she saw that it was coming from where her baby lay.  
  
The laughing got louder and Cho let out a bloodcurdling scream which reverberated all through 4 Privet Drive as the baby rose up and turned to face her with its sickly yellow eyes, scarred face and its menacing toothless grin.  
  
"Ahhhhh the lover!" it said in a dry, coarse whisper, barely even a voice.  
  
Cho choked on her saliva and whimpered, "Murron?"  
  
The baby widened its eyes, and Cho let out another ear piercing shriek as the baby's eyes rolled back into its head and it began vomiting a thick green liquid.  
  
"Who are you!?" Cho demanded, "What in God's name have you done with Harry?"  
  
She was still on the floor but could feel anger rising up inside her.  
  
The baby laughed yet again and said in a more slow coarse whisper, "Cho, Cho Potter! You don't recognise me? A certain Italian Auror who died at the hands of your beloved!"  
  
Cho choked again, "An-Antoine? Antoine L'armatura?"  
  
"Yes, it's me! Thought I'd died didn't you? HA! As soon as I entered Barzakh, I knew I must take revenge, revenge on Harry Potter!"  
  
"B-Barzakh? Wha...?"  
  
"Oh never mind that now!" it barked.  
  
Cho got up, she had stopped sobbing now and pointing a shaking finger at the baby she said in an equally as shaky voice, "You won't get away with this, bring him back!"  
  
Cho walked forward and shook the baby with its frightening pale yellow eyes and terrifying smile. The baby held its small flabby arm in the air and struck Cho across the face, causing her to fly to the other end of the room where the knife was stuck in the wall.  
  
"BRING HIM BACK DAMN YOU!" Cho bellowed at the possessed baby.  
  
The baby stared at her momentarily, then its eyeballs burst loudly and it fell to the floor of Murron's bedroom with an audible thump, as if a very heavy satchel had been dropped abruptly.  
  
Cho began sobbing again but this time, she got up and ran out the door, out of 4 Privet Drive and Disapparated with a bang like a gunshot.  
  
She Apparated in a harsh, oppressive desert - the sun's heat whipped her back with lashings of fire, her sandals were sinking in the burning sands and the winds blew stinging grains of sand in her eyes.  
  
With anger as she had never known before, Cho clapped her hands together resonantly and in an instant, a pentagram, a clean circle, a sword and the Grimoire appeared before her.  
  
Her sobs had stopped but her deep, shuddering breaths had acquired a chilling quality.  
  
Cho stood in the white circle and picked up the sword and the Grimoire and read from it, in a calm voice, "With this sword I pierce my flesh and allow Blushing Persephone to taste my blood," she cut a long gash across her wrist and the blood began to trickle down and ooze gently from her arm, "with the Talvaar-e-Yawmideen, I take the Sword, Sword of Doomsday and pierce the Book of Black," she threw the Grimoire down so that it fell right into the Pentagram and stabbed the book with the sword, using all her might.  
  
The Grimoire began to bleed, as if with black blood and it sprayed and oozed from its accursed pages.  
  
Cho let go of the sword and it continued to stand erect, and suddenly, as if being pulled from beneath, the sword sank into the pages of the Grimoire, and a blackness began to develop from where the Grimoire had been stabbed.  
  
The book was now gone, replaced by a hole which grew wider and darker, sucking in light and anything around it, except what was in the white circle in which Cho was contained.  
  
Cho looked down at the blackness, and knew that in a few thousand years Satan would have to fall down this very pit and continue to fall for one thousand years.  
  
"And so I open the Darkness, the Blackness, the Abyss," Cho said in a clear and loud voice, "Into its depth I shall fall and fall I will for years and years until the Day, the Day of Resurrection. The Gates of Hell await me at the end and there I shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever..."  
  
With that, Cho dove into the Abyss and felt the darkness consume her from all around. And so she would now fall, and fall, for how long, she did not know, but her physical body would soon die, to be replaced by her soul which would continue to fall. The darkness and corruption swallowed her and henceforth, she fell into the perpetual nothingness which would soon overcome her and empower her once human soul.  
  
The gate to the Pit closed up and once more it was desert, and nothing more... 


End file.
